RWBY: The Age of Metal
by Codename Siarnaq
Summary: A city from an ancient civilization was discovered, from long before their people or the Grimm existed. And within? A robot of remarkable strength. The one known as X. Awoken in a time and place he does not know, and faced with a past he cannot remember. How will X make his way in this strange new world? And how will the world cope when the past comes back with a vengeance?
1. Trailer

_**Hi, welcome to the story!**_

 _ **Feel free to skip this chapter if you want, this is just my vision of a stylised trailer for the story. It is not essential by any means and is more of a fun little thing to get you interested.**_

 _ **All spoken parts in this are said by Winter Schnee.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 _The Rooster Teeth logo appears, followed by the CAPCOM logo. We cut to a shot of Remnant being viewed from orbit, the lights of various cities on the planet clearly visible and slowly rotating as the planet does with the familiar shattered moon in the background._

"Remnant... is a world fuelled by conflict."

 _Cut to a scene of battle raging, multiple armies engaged in close combat on a muddy plain. Rain thunders down upon the soldiers, who continue to slug it out brutally with swords, shields and spears. Amidst the shouts and screams of battle, a few gunshots can be heard as a platoon with primitive rifles fires upon their enemy._

"Long ago, the world nearly tore itself apart in war."

 _The scene changes to large black beasts with bone like armour and protrusions, slowly marching forward as a pack. They are all based off real world animals such as wolves, elephants, boars and ravens._

"For as long as we can remember, the Grimm have been fighting us, trying to drive human and Faunus to extinction."

 _A wolf like Grimm bites towards the screen, turning it to silent black._

"But before us, there was something else..."

"Something... much worse."

 _The scene now shows a city under attack by strange looking robots. They vary in size, shape and abilities but all bear a similarity in the form of one glowing red, crystal like eye. Various soldiers try to fight them off but are being pushed back and overwhelmed._

"Reaverbots. Ancient machines that have resurfaced from a time not known to us. They seek to destroy our way of life, and may well succeed at this rate."

 _We now see a human being dragged through a crowd of people. All members of the crowd have animal features of some kind such as animal ears, tails, scales etc. They also all wear white outfits with eye obscuring masks. The human is dragged to the front of the crowd, where another masked man stands. He wears a black suit and has blood red hair. He also holds a long blade, similar to those used by Samurai._

"On top of that, we have the White Fang to contend with. Vile extremists who want nothing more than Faunus to overthrow humanity, by any means necessary."

 _Adam holds his blade above the humans neck and swings down. The shot cuts out just as the blade is about to make contact._

"We stand on the brink of disaster, be it from outside or within. Our armies have failed, diplomacy has proven useless, this is our most desperate time. What we need, is a hero."

 _The shot shows Megaman X close up, his eyes opening and becoming brighter as they activate at full power._

"And I think we've found one."

 _The shot now shows a strange, jelly like monster walking through the ruins of a city, it's footsteps making the ground tremble beneath it. The jelly material is almost see through and shifts through the colour spectrum. In the centre is a robotic head with a glowing red eye. It turns to look at the screen._

 _We now see Winter watching the monster on screen, meeting it's eye contact as various data screens whizz through information around her. She remains unphased, focused only on observing what is about to happen._

 _The shot pans back to reveal a wider shot of the destroyed city, showing that we are looking from X's perspective, he is standing on the top of a building. He looks over the destruction with a hidden anger in his eyes as the devastation goes on for miles. Looking down at the street below, the shot pans over eight figures; the members of Team RWBY and Team JNPR, all looking up at X, waiting for him._

 _X leaps from the building and falls rapidly to the street below, landing with enough force to make the road crack. He then turns and fires a buster shot at an unseen target. From the direction he fired in, two fireballs land near him but cause no damage._

 _He dashes forward and throws a punch at a young woman. She wears a red and dress with burning orange decoration upon it, similar to her eyes which glow with flames in them. Her hair is long and black like ash._

 _Her name is Cinder Fall._

 _Cinder tries to kick X, who grabs her leg and flings her away from him. In response, she fires off a flame shot that X easily dodges around, returning the gesture with his own shot. It hits Cinder in her chest and explodes in a cloud of dust. A mere second later, she reveals she is uninjured, and smirks at X before charging at him again._

 _We then cut to a wasteland, where the young Faunus from earlier is seen walking silently towards the screen, the wind howling around him as he carries on, ignoring all distractions._

 _We briefly see a device, glowing with power in the centre of a room, the camera panning around it before the shot ends as quickly as it came._

 _A brief glimpse of a group of figures. Only their silhouettes are visible but it is clear there are eight of them present, all wearing hooded cloaks that obscure their faces._

"If the legends are true, then X may be the answer to our problems."

 _The next series of shots only show for two seconds at most._

 _We see Team RWBY charging into battle._

 _Cinder and X fighting, with X dodging another of Cinder's attacks._

 _A human hand (whose it is not clear) holding a strange computer chip of sorts._

 _Team JNPR surrounded by Reaverbots._

 _The figure who performed the execution grinning with vile satisfaction at something._

 _The final shot shows X pointing his buster at the screen and firing a shot as the screen cuts to black._

"I pray they are true..."

 _ **MEGAMAN X RWBY: The Age of Metal**_


	2. Prolouge

_**This is getting ridiculous guys. Even for my standards!**_

 _ **I keep looking at this story and I'm just not satisfied with it. I have even had others read over it and they point out problems as well.**_

 _ **So here is how it went down. I had different plans for this story. I laid them all out in front of me and began weighing up the pros a cons of each one. As a result, I have found the problem and the solution!**_

 _ **See, as much as people wanted me to use the four Guardians in the story. I simply can't make personalities for them that I like. The reason their personalities worked well in the Zero series, is that they were villains! The same applies to their ZX counterparts. All of those guys were your enemy, and their personalities made it work for that role.**_

 _ **So, I can't write the four Guardians. How about my original plan? Well, as people said, they were a little iffy on the idea. I myself am too, I feel that some characters were just shoehorned in there.**_

 _ **That's when it hit me.**_

 _ **My focus for the story should be on one character, not a whole team. Others can appear, sure, but the focus should be on one character!**_

 _ **So, this is the final rewrite. The prologue can pretty much stay as it sets up the plot rather nicely.**_

 _ **Thanks for your understanding. I know I seem fickle, but I am my own worst critic. Hopefully with this laid to rest, I can get on with the story and with Star Wars too!**_

(Insert music: Megaman Zero 3 Remastered Tracks: Return to Zero)

 _Remnant._

 _No one truly knows why the world was given this name. It has been lost to the ages, forgotten over the countless generations that have passed on from this mortal plain._

 _There are legends however._

 _While excavating areas of the planet, the people of Remnant found data pads. These tablets, similar to the peoples current technology, yet an eternity older, tell of a world before Remnant. Of a world where man and machine lived together._

 _As they dug deeper, they found the ruins of the old civilisations. Skyscrapers that reached for what was formerly the heavens, resources that were previously unknown and technology beyond the primitive people of Remnant's wildest dreams._

 _This technology was integrated into the lives of the people. Robots did most of the menial labour, served the humans obediently and even became developed for battle purposes. Remnant seemed to be heading for a new golden age._

 _But then, a new discovery was made, one that would change the face of Remnant forever..._

 _ **3 months before our story begins...**_

A small team of workers looked up at the large metallic hatch above their heads. Originally it was electrically operated, but countless years of neglect had ensured the circuits were severed. The door itself was comparable to a safe, whatever was on the other side was not meant to be accessed by any normal person. That's exactly why the Schnee Dust Company wanted to get inside.

Whilst excavating dust crystals in the far western parts of Remnant, the miners had come across what appeared to be an radio antennae. Further scans of the rock below showed that an entire city was buried beneath their feet! The Schnee company promptly privatised the land and started digging into the city below.

This was not the first time such cities had been found, the technology brought up from them was in use in Remnant already, though much of it was still unattainable due to insufficient development. Regardless, historians poured over notes, confident that this was not just another city.

They were proven right. The ancient data pads listed the co-ordinates of the capital city of the former inhabitants.

The Schnee company had discovered Neo Arcadia.

They promptly activated the main power core and explored the remains of the once great city.

After months of working their way through the central tower at the heart of the city, they now found themselves at the final hatch. This hatch led to the room at the tower's peak. Impenetrable from the outside, this metal door was the only way in. The company had brought their best minds and equipment to crack the security codes and get inside.

After running the programmes for over 3 weeks, they were finally on the verge of success. Winter Schnee ensured she was present to be among the first to find out what lay within.

"Miss Schnee. We're in." a young scientist spoke.

"Safety scans?" she asked.

"No sign of any danger. No traps, no guards. Just one device using power in the centre of the room."

"Open the door."

"Yes ma'am."

Typing into the computer, the crews watched the hatch with bated breath. A few clanks could be heard as the rusty mechanisms started to move again. A hiss as the pressure doors opened, creaking as they pulled back. A final slam as the doors locked into place, followed by the unsure silence of the team.

Winter approached and looked up through the opening. A faint blue glow was all she could see. She had come this far, she would not be denied now!

"Well ladies and gentlemen, are we ready to make history?"

Without hesitation, she drew her rapier and leapt upward through the hatch, landing on the floor just beside it. The chamber did have lights, but they had all long since been inactive, though a few did occasionally spark with life for a second.

The room itself was barren, save for a large dome like construction, and in front of it...

A capsule.

It was blue in colour with a green glass screen. Various wires and cables spread out from it, linked to the power systems throughout the city. It gave of a pale blue glow, the light throbbing with power.

Winter approached it slowly, her blade still drawn. Carefully, she leant over and peered inside.

A robot lay inside. A human like face, it's eyes shut and mouth gently closed. It looked like he was sleeping. His blue and cyan armour gleaming like it was untouched, the feeling only amplified by the white and gold accents on it and the red crystals in his helmet, arms and legs. The capsule had a single symbol upon it.

"X" Winter read as she brushed the dust off it. She watched it for a few more seconds before calling back down to the rest of her team.

"Prepare one item for extraction, we're taking this back to HQ."

She looked back to the robot in the capsule, addressing him like he was awake. "I don't know what you are, or what your purpose was. But you may be the answer we've been looking for. You may be the one who can help save our world."

Two scientists made their way over to Winter and immediately began examining the capsule.

"This is incredible. I have never seen a robot with construction like this!"

The other scientist was looking at the capsule material itself. "Some materials are identifiable, others however seem to be of unknown design! This is amazi- uh-oh."

"Uh-oh?" Winter glared over at the scientist, unsure if she wanted to hear him out.

"It's nothing major Miss Schnee! It seems that the capsule is hard wired into the systems of the city itself. If we remove it, I fear it would cause irreparable damage! With that said, we can open the capsule and take the robot with us."

"Make it so." Schnee ordered. Immediately, two Atlesian Knights marched forward with their own white containment capsule. No where near as advanced as the original one, but it would serve well enough until they got back to HQ.

The scientists began working on the original capsule, cracking the code which was much simpler than the security door. A hiss of air was heard as the glass covering rose up, revealing their dormant prize. The figure stirred a little as the two Atlesian Knights lifted him into the new capsule. He soon calmed after being put back into stasis though.

"If we deactivate the stasis field, he should wake up on his own." A scientist declared.

The other scientist spoke up. "I should inform you Miss Schnee, although our system scans show the robot is 100% intact, they can only scan what they recognise. Removal of this robot may cause unexpected errors to the unit itself."

"That is a price we may have to pay. If the robot can be brought back in perfect condition, then that is a bonus. We only require the technology used to make it. Try to keep him in one piece, I'd rather hear of the old civilization from him, not tear him apart to get at it."

Cruel as it sounded, Winter was just being realistic, if the robot was inactive, then it would have to be taken apart to see how it worked. She hoped it was not the case.

 _ **Schnee Dust Company Labs – 5 hours later**_

(Insert music: Megaman X8 - Menu)

The capsule lay in the middle of a small operating room. It was filled with a mix of tools and monitoring systems, all wired up to the capsule. Directly above it, two robotic arms were waiting for instruction. No one wanted to be in the room when the robot woke up, just in case he responded violently.

From behind an observation window, Winter watched on.

"Open the capsule."

Immediately, the robotic arms began to input the code on the panel to the right hand side of the capsule. The hiss of air was followed only by pure silence, save for the robotic whirr of the mechanical arms twitching. Winter and her staff waited for the moment to arrive.

Then, a small white gloved hand was placed on the edge of the capsule. Slowly, pulling itself up, the figure emerged. He held his other hand on his head, eyes still closed as he regained conciousness. Opening it's eyes, the figure saw one of the robotic arms directly in front of him. It's hand was open as if gesturing to offer it's assistance. He gratefully accepted it, allowing the arm to help pull him up and make his way onto the white tiled floor.

The figure looked around the operating room, taking in all the sights as the two arms just waited for orders. He was shaken from his thoughts by Winter's voice ringing over the speakers.

"Don't panic, you're in no danger. I am coming in to talk with you, just remain calm."

The automatic doors slid open as Winter entered the room. The two were finally face to face.

They both simply stared for a while, sizing each other up, making mental notes of what the other was capable of, just in case things went haywire. It was that mutually assured destruction however, that prevented such a fight from occurring. Winter finally broke the stalemate.

"You must be X. We found the name on your capsule." she said, running her hand across a nearby workbench. X merely watched her.

"I apologise for this sudden change of surroundings, but in time such as these we are often forced to take actions such as these."

X spoke his first words to the white haired girl. "Who are you?"

"I am Winter Schnee. A high ranking soldier in the Atlesian army and daughter of the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company."

X was visibly confused. "Atlesian army? Schnee Dust Company? I don't remember those in Neo Arcadia."

"You wouldn't, because they don't exist within Neo Arcadia, nor any of your cities."

That didn't help X at all, he was still as lost as ever. Winter needed to break the news of where and when he was to him.

"Tell me X, when you were put to sleep, what was the world you left behind like?"

X thought for a moment. "A paradise, to put it simply. Neo Arcadia was capital of the world. A safe haven, where humans and reploids could live together in peace and harmony."

He smiled as he thought back to the carefree lifestyle. Only to look up and see Winter's expression, one of sadness.

"Such days have long since passed. The world is a very different place now."

"How so?" X asked, seemingly naïve to what he was about to hear.

Winter sighed as she sat down on the table. "We were able to perform carbon dating on both you and Neo Arcadia's structures. They were found to be over 8000 years old."

X took a second to process this, before realising in shock. "I've been asleep for eight millennia?!"

"Yes, but we don't know why. We were hoping you could tell us."

X placed a hand on his temple, eyes closed in focus. He could remember Neo Arcadia, why couldn't he remember this? He did a full scan, his memory was full of missing sections. He could remember the humans and reploids, but he couldn't even remember things that should have been obvious to him. Like who he was!

Did he rule Neo Arcadia? Or just live there? Did he have friends that had lived with him? Did he have advisors, co-rulers, anything? He just couldn't remember.

"As I feared." Winter said. "It's a side effect of the removal from the capsule, your data flow was interrupted and you have lost some of your memory."

"Never mind me! What about the citizens? What about those who lived in Neo Arcadia?"

Winter was surprised at his kindness. He was putting others before himself, even in this situation he was in.

"Well, we never explored very far, we only went through the central tower. Though, we never saw any signs of life at all, human or Reploid."

X buried his face in his hands. Why did this happen? What terrible thing could have brought about the destruction of everyone in Neo Arcadia? It was then that a more pressing thought reached his mind.

"But, you're human, correct?"

"Yes, I am."

"So then, what state are humanity and Reploids in now? Are they still prospering, or did they fall too?"

Winter answered him with a serious tone. "Humankind has found it... difficult to maintain itself. We have had to fight long and hard for several hundred years, but we are growing in strength and continue to live in general peace within our kingdoms."

A sigh of relief from X.

"As for the Reploids..."

X's eyes widened as he waited for her response.

"... the fact that I have never even heard that term tells me their fate was not as fortunate."

X was heartbroken. An entire race, gone... He was the last Reploid on the planet, to his knowledge at least. A race that was claimed to be the future, to be equal to humans, and they had fallen. He simply stared into space for a few moments, contemplating this new information.

Finally, he looked at Winter, a determined look on his face. "What happens now?"

Winter smiled at him. "It's your choice. You can go and find your own path. However, I would like to give you an option."

X watched her with intrigue.

"You care so much for humanity, you want to see them live in peace, right?"

"More than anything, it's the whole reason we were built. To help and live with humans."

"Then I offer you the chance to make a difference in this world. Humanity stands on the brink of destruction. If you help us defend our people against them, we can secure our future. In return, we will help give you the one thing that you are looking for."

"That being?"

"Answers."


	3. Places new, enemies old

_**Hi again guys! So for those who are unaware from my awful description, X is supposed to look like he does in Command Mission. Slightly less bulky than his old form, but still clearly a Reploid. Not that it matters too much in the RWBY universe, you can pretty much wear anything you like!**_

 _ **With that cleared up, it's time for chapter 2!**_

 **Schnee Dust Company HQ – Present Day**

"What'll it be buddy?" A White Fang member, dressed in the appropriate attire of mask and armour, asked.

"Either you surrender, or we blow her brains out!" The villain pointed a gun at a faunus girls head, electing a whimper from the hostage.

X weighed up his options, the man had the hostage at gunpoint, that was his priority, but he also had two members using a sword and a chain mace respectively behind him. Smirking slightly at the gun wielding foe, he spoke.

"I choose... neither!"

X switched to his buster and fired a shot straight at the gun wielder. The small thud as it made impact was repeated by the body hitting the floor. Immediately, the two sword users drew their blades and made for X.

The faunus girl looked at X, who had turned to face the other enemies.

"Go, now! I'll handle these two!"

Nodding gratefully, the faunus girl ran off. X was waiting for the other two attackers however, carefully approaching him as they had seen what he could do with his buster.

"Any false moves blue boy, and I chop you into pieces!"

X reached for his belt, pulling out a small metallic hilt. He activated it, and a brilliant green energy blade burst forth!

"Let's see if you use your blade as well as your mouth!" X taunted, holding the blade in a two handed style.

The sword wielder lunged at X with and over head swing, X calmly stepped to the side to dodge it, allowing the blade to clang on the floor beneath him.

As X moved to counter attack, he ducked as the chain mace swung over his head, it's user laughing as he spun it up for another strike. The time spent dodging had allowed his partner to recover, and they both stood ready to try another assault. Though this time, much more cautiously.

This time the mace wielder attacked first, swinging outwards to try and catch X with the full momentum of his weapon. X merely raised his saber, allowing the mace to pass over the blade just at the joint. The heavy weight fell to the ground with a thud, electing a surprised gasp from the White Fang member who looked in disbelief at what happened.

The sword user then took a crystal like object from his pocket and placed into his sword hilt. It suddenly shone with crackling electricity around the blade.

"No way that's getting through my blade now! Bring it!"

The swordsman charged and locked blades with X. Indeed, the weapon was now able to withstand even the Z-Saber's power, but the user himself was below par. Any swing that was made was easily blocked and countered by X, while the few swings X did make required massive effort on the White Fang member's part. He was merely wasting his energy and X's time.

The mace wielder was now using his chain as a weapon, as X found out the hard way. The chain being wrapped around his left arm, as the enemy tried to pull back on it, to no avail.

It was time to end this. X pulled back on the chain, dragging the man towards him. Swinging around, the man was lifted off his feet like a plaything, before crashing into his partner, both hitting the floor with a thud.

X now charged up his buster cannon, it glowed with a brilliant blue energy while making it's distinct charging sound. At full power, X aimed directly at the White Fang members, seeing the fear in their eyes. Just as he was about to fire however, he aimed downwards, shooting the ground just in front of them. Energy covered the two men and they fell to the ground, unmoving.

Just then, they faded away in a sea of pixels, as did the battlefield around them, leaving only a black room with green light lines coursing across it in a symmetrical square pattern. A small screen popped up, and a voice came from the monitor.

 **TRAINING SEQUENCE COMPLETED**

The board read '85%'. X simply sighed as he walked out of the room.

Winter was waiting outside for him, looking at the score from the observation screen just above the entrance.

"85% again, huh?" she asked, a smile on her face.

X sighed again. "I don't get it, what am I doing wrong? I save the hostage and neutralise the enemy."

Winter placed her arms behind her head as they walked. "See, there's your problem, you only neutralise them."

"Isn't that enough?" X asked.

"Not to those higher up. They are training soldiers here X, not pacifists."

X smiled to himself in disappointment at his superiors. "Soldiers may achieve peace, Winter. But from my experience, they can't maintain it."

Winter nodded slightly at that thought.

"That blade you have, you called it the... Z-sabre. Right?"

"Yeah, that name. it... it just seemed like that's what it should be called.

…

"You've been looking through your memory banks again, haven't you?" Winter almost sounded sympathetic.

X nodded sadly.

"What do you see?" Winter asked, genuinely curious about it.

"Nothing I particularly want to. A few familiar faces here and there. Not that I can remember their names though."

X thought back to the images. A reploid with red armour and long golden hair under his helmet. He bore the same sabre that X wielded. Another with black and red armour, always joking with them. There was also a girl with short blonde hair who he remembered fondly. It's just a shame he didn't know who they were.

Then there were the battles. Sometimes he would see a highway and he was battling a purple armoured reploid in a mech suit of some kind. The figure would speak but it would often be in bits and pieces.

"Si... ong, your not the re...loid wi... power to ch...ge the wo... I am! Me! V..."

Other times it was a figure who took many forms. He always recognised the basic features though. A bald head, blank eyes with purple scars and a vengeful smile.

"I wi... make you un...stan... the true poten...of r...loids!"

"I will make X and...Z...mine!"

"Giv... me an g...d figh... like you al...ys do!"

He would always see that figure, haunting him like a nightmare! Sometimes he showed his face, other times it was covered by a hooded cloak, sometimes he would morph and change into various horrifying forms. But his goal was always the same, to fight and defeat X. Why? X didn't know the answer to that.

Winter placed a hand on his shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about it too much right now. If you don't have the whole picture, then you can't be sure about what you're seeing. We are still exploring the rest of the city, if we find anything, you'll be the first to know about it."

The two walked on through the facility, passing several scientists, soldiers and Atlesian Knights on their way. Most were engrossed in their duties or, in the Knights case, were simply programmed not to care about anyone else. It was all a bit too, hostile for X's taste.

"I can tell your not finding it easy here X, I've seen that look before, the military life clearly isn't for you."

As grateful as X was for Winter giving him somewhere to live and help humankind, he couldn't really call this place home.

"That's why the we've come up with a solution that we feel will benefit you."

X suddenly started paying more attention now, this sounded promising to the reploid.

"The soldier lifestyle is clearly not for you, but there is another alternative that I think would suit you well. Tell me, have you ever heard of a 'Hunter'?"

"You mean like catching wild animals?" X joked.

"I'm being serious here X, though your not far off with the animals part. You remember how I told you about the Grimm? Creatures of darkness that have terrorised our people for countless generations? Well, Hunters are specially trained up to combat them. They don't have ties to any army, just to peace keeping. Not to mention that although your technically 8000+ years old, you were put to sleep with the mentality of a 17-18 year old, albeit a very mature one. That is precisely the age at which Hunters begin to train at."

X finished her thought. "So you want me to be trained up as a Huntsman, correct?"

Winter nodded. "We plan to transfer you to Beacon Academy, one of the most famed Huntsman academies. The headmaster is a man named Ozpin, he has already confirmed with us that he would be happy to have you in his school. We leave in 2 hours, better start packing."

X nodded with the biggest smile on his face as he turned to head for his quarters. He suddenly stopped before turning to Winter with a look of confusion. "Start packing what exactly?"

 **Emerald Forest**

The team from Beacon made its way through the lush greenery of the Emerald Forest. The only sounds to be heard being the snapping of twigs and rustling of fallen leaves and plants as they progressed onwards.

This lack of noise however, was exactly what was worrying the team. There were claw marks, signs of battle with the Grimm, but no sign of any other Hunters. Not to mention the fact that any Grimm they had found had been killed, though not by their hands!

Indeed, kill may have been too soft a word. Eviscerated would be more appropriate, torn to shreds by something of great power. Bits of fur and bone lay all across the forest. Maybe those snaps weren't just the twigs after all.

A team had been requested to investigate the battle after a call from a nearby village reported it to the authorities. The police had warned them it could be a dangerous enemy, as such they were requested to send their most experienced team.

"Alright you creeps! Come out with your hands up!"

Unfortunately, that team was on another mission, so team RWBY had been called in to do the job instead.

"Yang, they aren't just going to come out if you yell into every single bush, tree or shrub you find!"

Yang rubbed the back of her head and fiddled with her messy blonde hair.

"Well kitty cat, if you have any better ideas, _meow_ would be a good time to tell me!"

Blake, Ruby, Weiss and the author all face palmed at Yang's horrible pun. Though to be honest, this was par for the course for the fiery fighter.

Weiss stubbornly entered the conversation. "A good idea, would be to stop acting so immaturely and remember why we are here!"

"She's right sis, we need to find out what killed all those Grimm, and I don't wanna be around here long enough for it to get the jump on us. Let's just find it so we can report back to Beacon."

Yang gave a mock huff. "You used to be way more fun than this Ruby."

"If we have to fight it I'll let you get first punch!"

"I'm in! Dibs on the gut and nose!"

Blake watched on as the two siblings joked around, much to Weiss' annoyance. Just then, he bow twitched as she picked up on a sound. A sound that definitely wasn't a Grimm. She slowly turned around, a hand placed on Gamble Shroud, ready to split the possible foe in two.

She looked around to find...

Nothing? Puzzled, she scoured the landscape. Again, there was nothing but the forest trees and the aforementioned Grimm corpses.

That was until she looked down on the ground.

"Girls, check this out."

Yang removed her sister from the headlock she had put her in and the whole team gathered around the discovery. A rather strange puddle of liquid, changing colours slightly based on the light. It twitched occasionally.

Weiss squinted slightly. "What is that?"

"Well it's not water." Ruby pointed out.

"Or blood." Yang added.

"Well that's a relief." Weiss sarcastically added.

Blake drew one Gamble Shroud blade and moved it to poke the liquid. It felt jelly like, but firmer.

"This is weird stuff. It's kind of like... rubber? But kind of not."

Yang shoved the cat girl aside. "Oh come on, just pick it up and let's get out of here. Watch, I'll do it." The other girls tried to raise their objections as Yang reached for the strange material.

They were not ready for what happened next.

As Yang moved her hand next to the jelly like substance, it suddenly stretched upwards slightly, causing Yang to suddenly change her mind. She didn't change it quickly enough however, as the top of the stretched out form morphed into a fist and punched Yang square in the face!

Yang flew back, smashing into a nearby tree and yelping in pain before hitting the ground again.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled with concern. She turned in anger to the attacker. "You're gonna pay for that!" Ruby shouted, loading Crescent Rose.

The liquid seemed to respond to that threat, as it suddenly started to grow and morph in front of them. It kept growing as the girls backed up, until it was around twice their heights! The liquid looked humanoid in shape, but with no regular proportions. In the middle of the head area, a robotic head came into view, with a glowing red eye at it's centre.

The girls of team RWBY braced themselves, as Yang slowly started to get up from the impact she had had with the tree. It wasn't too hard, but she had not been expecting the hit and had taken the full brunt of it as a result.

As she tried to stand up however, the liquid like monster spotted her. It pulled it's arm back and threw it forward with force, firing off a blob of itself in the process.

"Yang, watch out!" Blake called to her friend.

She was too late, the blob made contact and completely encapsulated Yang within it. She tried to move but the jelly prison held her tight, she couldn't even activate her Ember Celica to blast her way out.

"We'll have to take him on without her, get ready girls!" Ruby rallied to her teammates.

Seeing it's opponent was captured, the creature turned to the rest of team RWBY, it's blank stare giving off an air of menace.

(Insert music: Megaman Legends 2 – Manda Ruins Boss)

The monster immediately stretched it's right arm out at blinding speed, intent on crushing the girls in one easy blow. However, the trio split up, rolling away from the danger. Seeing an opening, Ruby lifted Crescent Rose over her head.

"Take this!" she cried as she swung down and chopped the arm clean off of the body. Clear liquid flew from the ends of each part as the removed hand flopped onto the ground.

"Nice one Ruby!" Blake congratulated her teammate, before her look changed to one of horror.

The creature was not phased. It simply pulled the remaining part of it's arm back and reformed it's hand from what was left before leaping towards Ruby and Weiss, it's fists clenched and raised overhead as it tried to ground pound them. It's fists hit the earth with such force that the ground beneath them cracked!

Seeing her friends in peril, Blake readied her katana's and made haste for the monster. As she ran past the discarded blob however, she was in for a surprise.

"Just hold on! I'm co- ARGH! What the? Let go!"

The blob was still moving, almost like it was a separate entity! It had elongated itself and wrapped itself around Blake, pulling her to the ground and rendering the faunus incapable of battle. Blake grit her teeth as she tried to get free, but the goo like substance may as well have been steel, it was too tough to break.

Weiss and Ruby were now the only two left fighting. Both were full of rage at the creature for harming their friends, but Weiss seemed to be the most angry.

"I am Weiss Schnee, one of the finest Huntresses of Beacon, and I will **not** be beaten by the likes of you! You're going to regret what you've done!"

The monster cared not for such idle threats, it merely waited for Weiss to make her move, seemingly ignoring her. That seemed to push Weiss over the edge. She charged forward, rapier ready.

"Weiss, wait!" Ruby tried in vain to stop her partner. Seconds later, she wished she had done.

With lightning reactions, the creature swung and grabbed Weiss, causing the girl to yelp slightly in shock.

"How did you-"

That was as far as she got in the sentence as the creature spun it's arms around, without moving it's head or legs. It's speed was almost blinding, a blur of blue and white as it swung the poor heiress around like a toy.

As it reached top speed, it let go of her, she flew past Ruby and crashed into a nearby rock face, small stones and a dust cloud showed the force of the impact. When the dust settled, she was in a heap on the ground, unconscious.

Ruby ran over to the girl to try and aid her. Only to be interrupted by the creature sliding over in a messy jelly form and remaking itself as the humanoid shape again. Ruby hopped back and got into a combat stance again. The creature did not take it's red eye of Ruby for one moment. It reached behind it's back with it's arm and placed another liquid prison over Weiss. She was definitely not going to be able to help Ruby now.

Ruby gulped as the figure loomed over her. She plucked up her courage and readied herself, as the monster leapt towards her once more!

 _ **Cliffhangars! Don't ya love 'em? ;)**_

 _ **Glad to see this story style is picking up support, I am most pleased with this version too!**_

 _ **How will X get on at Beacon? What of Team RWBY? And what is this mysterious foe?**_

 _ **Find out next time on...**_

 _ **RWBY: THE AGE OF METAL!**_

 _ ***cue 90's style end credits music***_


	4. Arrival

_**Chapter 3 coming up! But first...**_

 _ **LETS ANSWER SOME REVIEWS!**_

 _ ***Party blower sound***_

 _ **Ok, let's see here.**_

 _ **atom king: Thanks, glad you like it! Yes, I do intend to give X some new powers later on! It wouldn't be a Megaman fic otherwise!**_

 _ **Aztec 13: As funny as that sounds dude, I intend for everyone to know who X is in this one. That could make a good fic by itself though! As for Penny, she will make an appearance, have no fear! As for the comics, never read them, will have to look into them and see what I may use.**_

 _ **MrtheratedG: Well I like where it's been!**_

 _ **LL: R.I.P. Legends 3 :( As far as I'm aware, the Carbons refer to themselves as humans since... they are humans. It's just they were made in an artificial way, kinda like IVF babies I guess. Also, as you can tell, this doesn't follow standard Megaman canon. It will have elements from many Megaman series, the timescale being from Legends.**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: This takes place after Season 2, as I will point out in this chapter. Also, had a look at the Ver. Kai figure. You will appreciate what happens later on in this chapter. ;)**_

 _ **That's all the reviews for today! Without further ado, Chapter 3!**_

Vale, the pinnacle of all the settlements on Remnant. From above, it was clear to see why. For as far as the eye could see, there was a concrete and steel jungle. Not in a cold, unforgiving style like other places, but shining, crisp and new.

From the airship seat window, X could see many of the key features of the city. Treated white smoke from the city's industrial sector, the skyscrapers of the business and stock market district, even Vale city's own magnificent self-contained forest was visible from here, a huge area of verdant beauty (albeit bio-mechanical in nature).

And in the distant skyline, the castle like structure of Beacon Academy. A symbol of peace and comfort for the people of Vale, and X's new home.

It reminded him of Neo Arcadia a bit. Was he still a little sad about that? Sure, who wouldn't be? But now he had a chance to make a better life for himself and this brave new world he was brought into. He would not squander this chance, like he had done in Neo Arcadia.

The weight of his failure was not what prayed upon him any more. Humankind lived on, and as long as he was alive, the Reploids were by no means extinct. What weighed his mind down was how it had all happened. It didn't make any sense for him to just abandon humanity in a time of crisis. Not to mention, even if he was aware of what had happened, he didn't know who was to blame for it.

He was brought back to reality by an air hostess. "Excuse me sir, we will be landing at Beacon Academy momentarily."

"Oh, thank you." X said, still half daydreaming. The hostess gave him a gentle smile before returning to her duties.

X got up from his seat, his red energy cape activating as he did so. He had thought about not wearing it, as it seemed a little out of place. But then again, so was the rest of his attire, so why not go all in?

Looking out as the airship was landing, he saw four people out of the window. A young lady with brown hair, brown and golden armour and... bunny ears? X could already tell this would be a bit of a learning curve. He hadn't seen a human with anything like that before.

The rest of the group seemed... normal, I guess? They didn't have animal ears at least, but their attire was a bit out there to say the least. There was another girl who looked like a fashion model; a cocoa coloured shirt, black cincher and dark brown trousers with a black beret and sunglasses. She also seemed to carry a lot of bullets with her, always a good sign.

The other two were boys. The more normal of the two was dark skinned with copper hair, orange zipper vest and black jeans. The other was tan and wore a green outfit, similar to those worn by the old Samurai, plated shoulder pad and all. Judging from the fact they were waiting for him, X assumed these guys were here to do the meet and greet stuff.

The ship engines whirred down as they had landed on the pad. The hostess opened the door for X and moved aside to let him past, X giving a grateful smile as she did so. Descending down the steps, he got a few strange looks from the team waiting for him, particularly the model like one. The bunny girl on the other hand, seemed rather eager to meet him.

The bunny girl walked over in front of X, somewhat timidly is had to be said with her hands crossed over in front of herself and not giving direct eye contact until she had to. She gave a small bow of respect before addressing him.

"Hello. Ummmm... you are the new student coming to study here at Beacon, right?"

"That's right. The name is X, it's lovely to meet you Miss... uh..."

"Scarlatina, Velvet Scarlatina."

The model like girl, moved up to speak to X, nudging Velvet aside slightly.

"X, huh? X what?"

"Oh, uh, just X."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Single name, huh? Little bit odd, but considering Ozpin told us you were a 'special case', I suppose I shouldn't expect any less. Name's Coco by the way. The big dude is Yastsuhashi and the one with the orange fetish is Fox."

"Special case?" X was puzzled.

"He didn't give details. Just said it was important that you went up to him as soon as you got here."

Velvet shyly twiddled her thumbs as she spoke to X again. "I'll take you up to his office now, if you wish."

X couldn't help but smile at Velvet's adorably shy nature. "Please do."

Velvet went on ahead and X followed before being blocked by Coco. "Until I know what the boss meant by 'Special Case' I'm gonna have to assume the worst, so let me just say this; any funny business and Yatsuhashi here will show you that size isn't just for bragging rights."

X was slightly taken aback, he hadn't expected that kind of tough talk from a girl like Coco. But he easily met her in the intimidation department, he had dealt with these types of people before.

"Relax, there won't be." He replied, calm as anything, before following Velvet.

The group made their way to a very steam punk looking elevator. Mostly shining brass, along with glass doors and the windows behind showing an intricate mechanism of clockwork cogs. As the elevator rose up, X got a better view and impression of the sheer size of Beacon. In the courtyard below he could see students making their way to lessons, some heading out or returning from missions. It felt good to be in a busy place again.

The bell dinging signified they were now at the top floor, Ozpin's office. It followed the same architecture, albeit with a more neutral colour scheme, far more industrial looking. His office was actually just behind the face of the main clock on the tower, making a window for him to look out over. The floor and ceiling were both glass with more cogs behind them. The noise inside was rhythmic and to some, probably annoying.

"Here you go Ozpin." Coco said with a surprising lack of respect. "One special case student, delivered as ordered."

Ozpin smiled as he fixed moved some of his grey hair away from his glasses. He clasped his hands together and rested his chin upon them, seemingly deep in thought.

"You sound unimpressed, Miss Adel. You have your own judgements about this student?"

Coco gave X a quick look over from where she stood, arms folded defensively.

"If his fashion sense is anything to go by? Then yes, he doesn't seem too impressive."

" _Maybe the cape was too tacky."_ X thought to himself.

Ozpin merely chuckled to himself. "Well, I'm sure that this was the height of fashion 8000 years ago."

"E-excuse me sir?" Velvet was understandably a little shocked.

Ozpin stood up and walked over to X. "Miss Scarletina, you've been following the recent discoveries of the ancient ruins quite closely, haven't you."

Velvet nodded. "I do take an interest in them sir. The old stories of man and machine, living together. Of the long lost heroes that fought for peace and, some say, are the origins of the title of a 'Hunter'.

"Well, as fascinating as those old stories are, I doubt they would be able to compare to the experiences of someone who was actually there." Ozpin said, placing a hand on X's shoulder.

Coco took of her sunglasses in disbelief. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Ozpin nodded. "Team CFVY. This is X. The last known member of the robot race known as Reploids."

Velvet immediately started bowing respectfully in a panic. Yatsuhashi did the same, though only once and very calmly. Coco still couldn't believe what she was hearing and seeing, but she hid the surprise behind her sunglasses again.

Ozpin now addressed X again. "You come to us at a critical time X. We have been able to hold back the Grimm and any other threats to our world for several generations. But now I fear a new threat is coming, one that will prove too much for even our Hunters to handle alone. That is why we came looking for you."

"The warrior and hero of both Humans and Reploids. The shield for those who cannot protect themselves, the blade that cuts through the darkness of the world. Your name is legendary, X." Velvet quoted some of the things she had read. "I thought you were just named after him, I didn't expect to actually be standing next to him one day!"

"I'm sure you've heard people talking about 'The Breach'. A catastrophic event in which the Grimm broke through the city boundaries. We were able to defeat them, but the more pressing matter is not the Grimm. It's who let them through."

Ozpin brought up a mugshot of a man with a bowler hat, cigar and ginger hair covering one eye.

"We already apprehended the leader of this attack; Roman Torchwick. We also managed to capture several White Fang members, but his higher up's still remain a mystery to us. With the Grimm attacks increasing in frequency, and further plans to expand our habitable territories, we felt we needed a way to stop this threat before it can fully emerge."

Coco gave X a pat on his bum, as her friends would tell you, this was normal for her. It caught X by surprise though. "That's where you come in Mr. Legend."

Ozpin continued. "Most of the team's missions are defence against Grimm attacks. Your missions will be a little different however. While you will assist most teams with general elimination tasks, your primary objective is to discover the identity and plans of our enemy. If you can apprehend them, well and good. If you have to destroy them, that is what you must do."

X nodded understandingly and was getting ready to leave when a call came through for Ozpin. The word 'URGENT' flashing beneath the caller's picture; a girl with black hair and silver eyes.

Ozpin's expression turned serious. "Miss Rose, what's going on?"

In the background, they could hear gunshots and occasional crashing, almost like trees and ground being ripped apart, along with Ruby panting for breath.

"Professor! We need an evac, now!"

More gunshots and sounds of destruction.

"What is it Miss Rose? What's happening there?"

"*Puff*...*Pant* Some creature... really...tough..."

 ***CRASH** *

"Hurry!"

 ***Beep-beep-beep** *

The line went dead. Whatever was attacking the girl, she and her team couldn't beat it alone.

"Sir, with your permission, we'll go back up Team RWBY." Coco volunteered.

"No. I can't risk losing your team. You only recently came back from another tough mission, you are not at 100%."

"Sir, we can't just leave them there!" Velvet protested.

"Indeed. That is why I am sending X. Judging from Miss Rose's lack of a description, this enemy has not been seen by Hunters before. X on the other hand, may well know what it is and know how to beat it."

X stood to attention. "Yes sir, I won't let you down!"

He broke off into a run when Coco grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.

"Hold on a second. We have to get you prepared first. No way you're going around saving my friends looking like that. Come on."

With that, she dragged X out of the door, her team following suit.

 **Team CFVY's Room**

(Insert music: Kingdom Hearts 2 – Laughter and Merriment)

"Is this really necessary?" X asked as Coco looked at a colour palette that Velvet had brought her.

"If you love Remnant like I do, you'll want to save it with style. Besides, you look like you just walked out of Joseph and his Technicolour Dream Coat!"

X raised an eyebrow in confusion. While Coco looked at some shades of paint.

"*sigh* Great film, _horrible_ fashion sense!"

Coco and her team put on some simple mouth masks and loaded up some spray guns.

"We borrowed these when decorating our room, they'll work perfectly on your metal plating."

She sprayed a little bit of black paint onto X's arm. "Yep, black is definitely the way to go with you. So chic!" She continued spraying his arms while Fox did the back and Yatsuhashi did the legs.

"Enjoying the view down there, Yatsu?" Fox joked. Yatsuhashi merely grunted.

Velvet then came up to Coco with a different paint colour. "Coco, would it be OK to put some of this on him?"

"Oh... my... god! Gold highlights! This is why I love you Velvet! You have some fashion sense in you!"

X watched on as Velvet started gently painting small strokes on his armour round the edges of his feet, shoulders, head and arms.

"Don't I get a say in this?" X asked.

Coco shot him down. "You had your say with keeping the white gloves and red crystal. Also, the only way I'm letting you keep that energy cape is if it's yellow."

"..."

"Trust me X baby. It'll be worth it! Now hold still, you're making me mess up this bit!"

X rolled his eyes, just as well he did because Yatsuhashi was coming at his face with a purple covered brush.

"OK! I draw the line at face make up!"

Coco sighed. "Fine, no make up. It would look good though."

X gave the girl a stern look. She simply raised her hands up and backed off.

"Just a suggestion."

 **Half an hour later**

"All set!" Coco beheld her handiwork with a smile. "It's quick drying so you can head straight away."

X had to admit, the team had done a good job. The black armour plating and grey arm and thigh parts were well complimented by the gold highlights. He decided to ditch the energy cape, it turned out to be too tacky after all!

"Ozpin told us you had a teleport function. Here are the last known co-ordinates of Team RWBY." Velvet said, handing him a data pad. "Please bring them back safely."

X gave a defiant nod before he stood back from the team and let the blue glow of energy wash over him, before he vanished in a flash of light.

"Think he'll be alright?" Velvet asked, concerned.

"He's got ancient, bad ass technology, combined with our fashion sense. He's got this one in the bag." Coco answered, confidently.

Velvet took comfort in that answer, at least until Coco spoke again.

"If he doesn't I just wasted some of my favourite paint!"

 **There's chapter 3 done guys! Keep the reviews coming in, I do enjoy answering them and the story is flexible in some parts to let your ideas in!**

 **Until next time!**


	5. Rescue: Part 1

**Before we get on to chapter 4 guys, I want to make a quick poll.**

 **I have had a mix of support and non-support for the ver. Kai armour I gave X in the last chapter. Which of the following would you prefer him to do?**

 **A. Keep this colour scheme.**

 **B. Go back to his original scheme (blue and cyan)**

 **C. Go back to his command mission style.**

 **This choice is entirely up to you guys. Majority vote wins and will be in effect from the next chapter.**

 **Now, item 2 on the agenda. Reviews!**

 ***shuffles papers***

 **Atom King: Boy, you really like this story, huh? As usual, I will consider all ideas, but no promises!**

 **fresh prince1: True, it doesn't fit X, but it certainly fits Coco. Plus, X is a bit too polite to refuse someone as stubborn as Coco. Of course he wants to get out there ASAP, but fashion waits for no one according to Coco!**

 **Locke Lynx: If you're lucky, that armour may be permanent!**

 **LL: The Penny idea is a very interesting one! I did have a different plan for X, but I can easily put this idea in as some light hearted parts in between the action!**

 **Enigma infinite: Any criticism is constructive criticism, much appreciated!**

 **Pea Brain Writer: Well, can see how you will vote then!**

 **mochiguy911: Alternate future post X era, RWBY tech is not that advanced yet, they only just found him. As for the non-combat robot point, it will be brought up later, patience! Also, the blob will be revealed this chapter! Please see freshprince1 response for the last point and armours will be playing a part!**

 **ArmantusCumPinnae: Wait and see! :3**

 **Keep the reviews coming! I love answering them! Onwards to chapter 4!**

In a quiet clearing of the Emerald Forest, a few small birds pecked away at some seeds on the ground, their chirping and the other ambient forest sounds being the only activity in that area. That was until a ball of blue energy impacted on the ground where the birds were!

They promptly flew off in fright. The ball of energy remained for a second before fading away to reveal the figure of X, his newly decorated black and gold armour glistening in the sunlight. He placed a hand on the side of his helmet and spoke into his com system.

"This is X, I have successfully arrived at the Emerald Forest."

Back at Schnee HQ, Winter answered his call. "Glad to see that old tech still works."

"What can I say? I was built to last!" X seemed rather upbeat considering the situation.

"There will be time for jokes later, the distress signal is located North-West of your current position. Proceed with caution, we're picking up several small energy pockets all over the forest. Whatever is attacking Team RWBY may not be alone. I'll bring up some of the retrieved archives and try to identify anything you come across, assuming you don't know what it is already."

"Roger, I'm beginning the mission."

X switched to his buster cannon, the mechanism clicking into place and he started to make his way through the undergrowth. Leaning forward slightly, he focused his energy into his leg systems.

"Let's hope these still work!"

X closed his eyes, focusing on activating the mechanism he was thinking about. Suddenly, jets of yellow energy burst out from the flats of his robotic feet, propelling him forward at incredible speed.

"OK, that's good to know!"

X continued to chain boosts together, one after the other. To anyone else, X may as well have been a sports car zooming past them, such was his speed. Not that it was a problem for him, his advanced optical systems allowed him to see around himself as if he were travelling at walking pace.

It was just as well this was the case, as he saw a sheer cliff face coming up ahead of him. As he approached it, he leapt into the air, straight towards the cliff face!

Rather than slamming face first into it however, he stopped himself by placing one hand against the cliff and both feet on it as well. As his momentum hit zero, he began to slide back down it.

X now used his propulsion systems to push himself away from the cliff and gain some vertical height, he then hugged the cliff again. By repeating this process in rapid succession, he was easily able to traverse the natural obstacle that barred his path.

It was a rather peaceful journey, it had to be said, and X felt good to finally stretch his legs (and dash boosters) properly after an 8000 year sleep!

As he reached the top of the cliff and stood on flat ground once again, he was shaken from those thoughts by Winter barking at him.

"STOP!"

X rubbed the side of his head. "Did you have to order me about so loudly?" he asked.

"Listen to me very carefully X. One of those energy signals is directly in front of you, be on your guard."

X looked around the area in front of him, buster held firmly in his other hand. There was nothing but trees, shrubbery and a few animals such as squirrels, all looking at him with curiosity. It was then that his eyes fell upon a stone structure.

It was no bigger than himself and consisted of a large grey block with three vertical black lines running down it. On the top was a circular stone, inclining up slightly towards a tall central spike with more black lines running out from the centre to the outermost parts of the circle. The object was covered in damp moss and a few vines and flowers.

"What is it? What have you found?" Winter asked.

X approached it slowly. "Not sure. Looks like a lantern or something? Maybe a shrine?"

X continued to walk closer as Winter looked for information.

"Odd. No one has reported anything like that anywhere in the forest before."

X slowly reached out to place a hand upon the structure. Maybe he could take a look inside it.

As he touched the top however, the front slab moved to the side, and he found a red crystal eye staring back at him!

He immediately dashed backwards and hid behind a large tree. Upon closer inspection, he could see that the object had two blocky feet and two short arms. It was holding the front slab in one hand, and had a rather large gun attached to the other!

The object seemed to shake itself down a little bit, as if it was drowsy. It then started to pace around in a small area, back and forth like a guard on patrol. It's slab held firmly in front of it as it walked and the gun at ease by it's side.

X took a moment to catch his breath.

"What was that?" X asked.

"I'm not sure, at least not yet anyway." Winter responded.

"Think you can find out what it is?"

"If you let me link up to your optical sensors and get a good look at it, I may be able to cross reference it with our explorer database. Of course, getting a look at it will be the main problem."

"Is there no easier option?"

X took it from her silence that there wasn't.

"Fine, but you better pay attention, dunno how long I will have before it notices me."

The object was facing away from X, looking off into a distant part of the forest. It seemed to just ignore him, or perhaps it was looking for him. Either way, X needed to get its attention so they could identify it.

X tenderly stepped out from his cover, ensuring he didn't make a single sound. He could see the target still looking around aimlessly. He carefully moved to get closer to it, crouching slightly to mask himself amongst the undergrowth. It was a plan that worked well. Until he stood on a large twig.

 ***Snap** *

Within a tenth of a second, the object turned about face and fired an explosive round at X. Thankfully, it impacted the ground just in front of him and sent the Reploid flying backwards into some hedges.

"At least now you don't have to run for cover!"

X was not amused. Peering out of his unexpected new hiding place, he saw the foe looking around again, this time with quick sudden movements. It was looking for him for sure.

"Did you get a good look at it?" X asked. "It was kind of a pain to get that close... literally."

"Do you want the good news or bad news? The good news is, we have been able to identify it. The bad news is... well, let me send you our data so you can see for yourself."

A screen popped up in the corner of X's vision, showing picture of the attacker and some information about it.

 **NAME: Gorubeshu**

 **TYPE: Advanced Mechanaloid**

 **WEAPONS: Multi-purpose fire arm and shield**

 **INFO: Heavily armoured robotic military units, these units rely heavily on surprise to catch opponents off guard. Their shield is made of an incredibly durable metal of unknown design. Previous encounters in the field have shown this shield can block all known forms of attack.**

"I hope you have a plan for this X."

X looked at his buster. "You said all known forms of attack, right?"

"Yes, so I suggest you-"

X suddenly leapt out of cover and opened fire at the Gorubeshu. As quickly as before, it raised it's shield in time to block the projectiles. Small burn marks on the shield were the only signs of damage, if you could call it that.

The Gorubeshu then pulled it's shield back and returned fire, each shot missing X by mere centimetres as he dashed across the clearing to stay ahead of the attacker. X raised his buster to try another attack. Again though, the enemy blocked his shots, much to X's frustration.

"Keep shooting at it X!" Winterinstructed.

"Why? It's doing no damage."

"Well, unless you want to go against another onslaught of explosions, you'll take my instruction to heart."

Sure enough, the enemy stayed behind it's shield, unmoving as it waited for it's chance. X kept up a steady stream of fire as he back peddled towards his original spot. Once he was hiding again, the Gorubeshu revealed it's face again, the red eye scouring for him. Luckily it was not the brightest of opponents and did not think to look for X in his hiding spot.

"Alright, bad plan." X sheepishly admitted.

"I tried to warn you. I may have a solution for your problem though!"

"I'm listening."

"This unit seems to be optimal against long range threats. How about you get up close and personal with him?"

X gave a nod and ignited the Z-Sabre, it's humming sound drawing the attention of the Gorubeshu. It immediately opened fire upon X, but could only get a single shot off that flew harmlessly past the Reploid.

X returned fire and, as before, the enemy brought up it's shield to block the attacks. X continued to pepper the shield with shots, unsure of what else to do, the Gorubeshu just kept it's shield up. X finally came within range of his target.

He stopped firing and waited for a second. The Gorubeshu dropped it's shield and raised it's gun to fire. It never got the chance as X swung his blade across and chopped the gun arm straight off. He then followed this with a swing in the opposite direction and the shield suffered the same fate, falling to the ground, useless now.

X twirled the sabre in his hand around to a thrusting position. With all his might, he stabbed the enemy right through it's eye, the red crystal shattering to pieces. X pulled the sabre back out and the Gorubeshu fell on it's back before a small explosion tore open it's chest compartment, and assured X of his victory.

Taking a brief moment to catch his breath, X bent down to look at what he had just fought. The construction within the machine was easy enough to understand, though a few modules that gave the robot it's somewhat impressive fighting capabilities were unknown to him. What confused him more was the power source.

"Dust crystals?" Winter sounded surprised. "We knew they were potent as ammunition, but I had never believed they could be stabilised enough to use as a power source. We'll have to look into this. In the meantime, X, could you bring back a piece of that robot's armour please? We want to see what material was able to withstand our most advanced weapons."

X pried a chunk of the armour off from the smoking wreckage before cutting through a corner of the shield with the sabre and taking that too.

"The other energy signals seem to be far away from you and your target, you should have a clear run to it."

X dashed off immediately, it was time to find out what this was all about.

 **A short distance away**

It turned out that the soft looking, green grass of the Emerald Forest was nowhere near as comfortable as Blake had thought. It was cold, dirty and the blades of grass were making her itch. Not that she could do much about any of those minor problems, or the major one that was battling her teammate Ruby.

They had moved somewhere else in the confusion, the battle now taking place some distance away to the Faunus' East. The blob that had constricted her to prevent her fighting however, seemed all too happy to stay where it was.

She tried again to get free, using all of her might to stretch and break the material. Alas, it barely even moved an inch, let alone get close to breaking. In the distance, she could hear the cries of her teammate, fighting with all her might. Blake looked around to see if there was anything she could use to free herself.

What she saw, however, made her eyes widen in fear.

A robot was slowly coming towards her. It had two pincer like jaws and a hollow, circular body with four spikes coming from it. It had a small pointed tail and walked upon four small legs.

Blake had read about the Schnee company's encounters with these robots. They called them 'Wolfon's'. They were small and fast, designed seemingly to hunt down stragglers and weak foes. An immobile target such as herself was easy prey.

The Wolfon growled at her with a robotic, but still distinctly animal voice as it paced up to the defenceless Faunus.

The robot crouched back slightly as Blake watched on, eyes widened as she waited for the inevitable. It leapt for her, and she shut her eyes and tensed, readying herself for the final strike.

But it never came. Confused, she slowly opened her eyes and was shocked to see someone defending her. The ally had let the Wolfon's jaws clamp around his arm, though he seemed to not be bothered by it. Throwing his arm back, the Wolfon let go and was flung several meters away, it quickly rolled back to it's feet and barked in anger.

As Blake watched the Wolfon, she felt her bonds loosen and drop off. The ally had cut them and they now simply fell to the ground as little puddles.

The Faunus girl got to her feet. She could see the ally was male, wearing black and gold body armour with a helmet.

"Are you okay?" he asked, with a voice that immediately put her at ease.

"Yes, thanks to you." She replied with a smile.

The ally smiled back, but his look soon changed to one of determination as he looked past Blake. She too turned around, and locked eyes with the Wolfon.

"Don't thank me yet, I still have to take care of this thing!"

"You mean _we_ have to take care of it." Blake corrected him, drawing her Gambol Shroud's in pistol form. X nodded his approval.

(Insert music: Megaman Legends 2 – Dog Reaverbot)

The Wolfon reared up on it's hind legs, and let out a mighty howl that echoed across the forest, before coming back to all fours and charging for the duo.

The Wolfon sped around the pair of Hunter's, X drew his buster and opened fire, as did Blake. A few small impact sounds as the shots hit the earth were heard, but the robot remained undamaged.

It then turned suddenly and charged towards them. Blake opened fire again, but the Wolfon was able to dodge around the fire and get within striking distance. It leapt for them but X was able to dodge to the side while Blake simply slide low down and let it pass over her.

Mere seconds after recovering, the Wolfon was already speeding around them again, preparing for another charge.

X tried to line up his shot again, but Blake placed a hand on top of it, signalling that he should put it down. X looked over in slight confusion, but the cat Faunus had a confident look in her eyes. Giving a nod, X slowly lowered his cannon.

Blake switched Gambol Shroud into it's dual katana form, twirling them slowly in her hands before she crouched slightly and awaited the attacker, her blades now behind her and held low.

The Wolfon came charging in again, focused purely on the girl. Blake didn't move a muscle.

It drew closer, first she could hear it's feet on the ground, then it's panting, recorded breath. Still she didn't budge. The robot leapt skyward, trying to use the momentum of it's fall to get more damage from the attack.

As it passed over her, Blake made her move. She to leapt up to meet the robot right side on. In a blur, she swung her blades just as the robot was level with her, spinning as she did so to strike with both katanas. She landed on the ground expertly and returned her blades to their sheaths on her back.

The Wolfon was not so lucky.

It too landed, but stood still before looking down at itself. Mechanical sparks and fluids were coming from two deep gashes on the bottom of it's hollow, circular body. It fell on it's side, twitching as it struggled to raise it's head. It gave one last weakened howl, before it fell completely, and the red light in it's eyes faded to black.

Blake turned around to find X staring in amazement. This was the power of a Huntress? Able to fell their foe in a single strike. The humans of X's time were practically dependant on the Reploids to protect them. These humans were quite the opposite.

"Thanks for your help...uh..."

"X."

Blake opened her mouth to speak.

"No second name. Just X."

That answered that question. "Well, my name's Blake Belladonna."

"Good to meet you Blake. Are you part of the Hunter team that was sent out here?"

Blake was slightly surprised to hear that. "How do you know about my team?" she asked. Not threateningly, but still with a hint of suspicion.

X put her at ease however as he explained. "I recently joined Beacon Academy. Ozpin sent me out here to find you after one of your team called in, she seemed in distress. Ozpin called her 'Miss Rose' or something like that."

"You mean- *gasp* Ruby!"

Blake dashed off in the direction she had heard the battle sounds coming from. X ran alongside her.

"What are you doing?" X asked as they dashed through the forest.

"That Wolfen wasn't what my friend warned you about! She's still fighting that... thing, and it's probably beating her! I need to find her!"

X looked ahead with a look of anger in his eyes, anger at whatever was harming this girl's friends, the people he was sworn to protect. "Not without me you're not!"

Blake gave a small smile, right now she would take any backup she could get. This fight was not going to be easy!

 **Another one down! Keep those reviews coming guys, and don't forget to place your vote for the poll in your comment!**

 **Until next time!**


	6. Rescue: Part 2

**Chapter 5 is here! But first, reviews!**

 **Locke Lynx: I'll be honest, I wasn't really a fan of the Gatling Buster, I may consider it though.**

 **Atom King: Yeah, Winter helping to explain the enemies turned out well. As for the Elf Wars... spoilers!**

 **ArmantusCumPinnae: Calm yourself man! Zero will show up if he wants to! He is that badass! Also, yes, Winter is helping X for now.**

 **LL: Wily is not going to be in this, sorry :( As for Sigma, he is dead, but when has that stopped him before? :3**

 **CasualFictionWriter23: In this story, X has no need for a civilian form. Everyone knows he is a Reploid since he is what they were looking for. To civilians he is just an advanced robot, since they are common in RWBY's world.**

 **With that sorted, on we go!**

Ruby skidded backwards along the ground, recovering from a vicious blow, the ground tearing up beneath her heels. She panted for breath, any moments of respite she received would help her.

Ruby then assessed herself, she was not fairing well. Her clothing was battle worn, covered in debris and torn in places. Most were small but one blow had practically torn the right shoulder clean off! It was still red though, a mix a friction burns and blood giving it the matching colour scheme.

Her weapon, Crescent Rose, was holding up fine (as it was designed to). Her condition though, made it difficult to use. It's weight was now becoming a hindrance to the Huntress and prevented her from launching any powerful strikes. There was always the option of firing the sniper form but that would do little, she had already attempted to bring down her opponent with long range attacks, but they merely bounced off it's jelly like armour.

Speaking of which, that... thing was coming after her again. I slowly paced it's way over to Ruby, not wanting to bother wasting energy on such a weak victim.

Ruby took another look at Crescent Rose, she had tried everything she could, what else could she do?

As the stomping came closer, she looked to her foe with a glare of defiance. She had tried to beat him, she had tried hard. She would just have to try even harder! Holding her scythe in two hands, she made a dash for the enemy.

The monster watched the girl as she approached, waiting for her to come into range. As she did so, it attacked with a downward punch from it's right arm. Ruby dodged it, stumbling slightly as she did so. She regained her composure as the arm was pulled back, sliding along the ground to try and sweep her off her feet.

With precise timing, she back flipped over the arm and high into the air. As she did so, she came level with the monsters face. The robotic head staring back at her from behind it's wall of liquid metal.

Taking a moment to look at what she assumed was confusion in it's stare, she swung her scythe across it, slicing through the head area and ending this battle (she hoped). The second the blade made contact, her opponent gave out a robotic roar. It fell to it's knees, one hand holding itself up while the other covered it's facial area.

Ruby landed back down in front of the enemy with relative ease, looking at her now wounded opponent with a smug grin on her face. If it wasn't hurt before, it must have been now, she had hit it directly in it's eye!

Or so she thought.

The monster slowly removed it's hand to reveal the wound. Crescent Rose had indeed sliced through the liquid metal, revealing the front of the robotic head, the back still held in place by the unusual armour.

Ruby's face turned from pride to a look of shock as the jelly like covering slowly started to reform itself. Squelching as it moved slowly across the front of the face again, before being completely rejoined with not even a scratch to show the previous attack.

As the Ruby watched on, the robot eye glowed a brighter shade of red for a split second. Realising she would not be able to dodge, she held up Crescent Rose in front of herself to give some protection.

A mere millisecond after she did so, a beam of energy burst forth from the head, hitting Ruby and sending her flying backwards. Rather than the somewhat graceful landing of last time, on this occasion she hit the ground back first, tumbling with the momentum before coming to a rest on her side.

Her breathing was now very rapid, as she tried to fight off unconsciousness. Her weapon had landed nearby but was out of her grasp. She struggled to turn her head to look at her opponent. It was now charging towards her, clearly angered by the last attempt Ruby had made.

She looked back to Crescent Rose and weakly stretched out her arm to try and grab it.

*Gasp* "Nnngh! Come... on... Ruby!" she tried to encourage herself as the monster got ever closer. "You've...*pant*... almost... got it!"

The red clad huntress stretched with all her might, her fingers just brushing the side of her weapon. She was about to make one final push to grab it when it was cruelly taken from her.

The monster had reached her, kicking the scythe and sending it flying away from her into the bushes nearby.

Ruby stared in the direction her weapon had gone, her arm still stretched out to where it had been. That was it then. No weapon, no energy left in her, and one pissed off being of unknown power.

Looking back to the creature, she saw it looming over her, it's shoulders heaving up and down, like it was panting in anger. It gave another almighty roar and raised both of it's arms over it's head, preparing to crush Ruby into the dirt.

Ruby lay her head back down and closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. She just hoped the creature had some mercy in it and would make it quick. Her lips quivered and a few small tears escaped her eyes.

 _I'm sorry girls. I tried._ She thought to herself.

As she lay there however, she opened her eyes slightly as she heard a noise in the distance. Like something powering up. A low pitched whine that got louder and louder. Then she heard a small 'pew' sound. Like in some kind of sci-fi film.

Looking to where the noise had come from, she saw that there was small blue glow, becoming brighter and brighter. Whatever it was, it was coming closer, and the monster was oblivious to it. Until it looked at Ruby and saw where she was looking.

As soon as it turned it's head however, a bright ball of plasma impacted the creatures stomach. The creature's body bent back slightly at the initial impact.

Then the plasma ball exploded.

The creature was flung backwards, landing several feet away with a large thud signalling it had hit the ground, as well as a large cloud of dirt and dust from the crater it had made.

Ruby looked on in awe, who could have had the power to simply blast that monstrosity away in a single attack when she couldn't even properly damage it? She soon got her answer.

Landing next to her, were two people. She instantly recognised the first. The black high heels and stockings, and the black vest and white under shirt. Only one person she knew wore those.

"Blake." She said weakly.

The cat Faunus bent down to her.

"Just relax, you're going to be alright."

"Where did you come from? I thought that thing had gotten you?"

Blake gave small smile. "It did, but I had a little help."

It was then that Ruby looked up at the other figure. Covered in black and gold body armour, a cannon on his arm aimed squarely at the creature. He looked to Ruby with confidence, the girl smiling back at him.

"You ready for this X?" Blake asked as she drew her blades.

"Bring it on." X replied, as the two ran up to the crater where the monster had landed.

As they reached the crater, the monster was just starting to get back up, reforming itself into it's humanoid shape after the impact had practically flattened it. Blake stood ready in her battle stance, X meanwhile was simply watching the creature, he was deep in thought.

Noticing his expression, Blake turned to him. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I... I know this thing. I remember it. From Neo Arcadia."

"What?" Blake asked with a little shock in her voice.

"It was a defence system in Neo Arcadia. What's it doing here?" X approached the beast as it stood up, watching them, but not attacking.

"Rainbow Devil!" The creature looked at X as he shouted those words to it. "I order you to stand down immediately! You are attacking innocent people!"

The creature stared at X, before it spoke. It's voice was low and monotonous

" **...X..."**

"Well, it remembers me anyway." X was trying hard to see the positive in this.

Blake watched on, her grip on her blades still tight, and her pose set so she could spring into action instantly.

" **Mission: Eliminate... Mavericks..."**

"What's a Maverick?" Blake asked.

The Rainbow Devil turned to X with a stomp, knocking the Hunter off balance slightly.

" **Designation of X...Maverick! Must... ELIMINATE!"**

(Insert music: Final Fantasy IX Boss Theme)

As soon as the Devil said those words, it charged at X and Blake, leading with it's arm for maximum impact. The duo split up and the Devil charged straight past them. It then turned around and jumped into the air, attempting to slam down on them.

Blake leapt back as the beast slid onto the ground. Readying her blades, she jumped atop it and started to run across the length of it's body, slashing away at it as she did so.

Leaping off at the end, the Devil stood up once again, revealing a large number of slash wounds. It started to seal them up and within a second, they were healed.

"Damn it!" Blake cursed as she saw that her attack was fruitless.

The devil then started to attack the pair with punches, it's arms stretching out to the correct range as it moved towards them with each punch. Before it got within striking distance however, X fired a precise buster shot to it's head area. The Devil bent back over as it registered the hit to it's vulnerable spot. It held a hand to the head area, covering it while the wound healed.

Pulling it's hand back, it started to perform a different move. The central section started to spin, while it's head and feet were stationary. Blake and X had already moved well back, at that range, it couldn't possibly hit them with it's melee, even if it stretched.

Close combat was not the Devil's plan though. As it spun faster and faster, bits of itself were fired all over the forest. Unlike the previous time it had used parts of itself to attack however, these pieces exploded upon impact! It was as though someone had lobbed a box of grenades at them!

X and Blake were dodging to the best of their ability. X using his dash to get an advantage in distance from the foe.

Blake was relying on her speed alone and as it turned out, that wasn't enough.

An explosive directly in front of her was enough to bring the cat girl to a halt, her arms crossed over her face to protect herself. As she stood still however, another projectile landed directly at her feet. It detonated and sent Blake skyward. She hit the ground hard and tumbled a few times.

"Blake!" X rushed over to her to try and help. As misfortune would have it however, the Rainbow Devil blocked his way, stepping in front of the blue (or rather, black and gold) bomber.

"I don't have time to play games with you! HIYAAAAAA!"

What X did next was rather unexpected, even from the Rainbow Devil. Rather than shooting or slashing at the enemy, X gave a powerful sweeping kick to the chest of the Devil. It fell backwards as a result, but immediately counter attacked in a most unconventional manner.

As soon as it fell back, it became an unrecognisable mess. The blob then sprang into the air and reformed as a monstrous looking beast head! It's jaw gnashing away at thin air as it dove towards X.

X prepared himself, aiming his buster at the attacker and firing a shot. Instead of stunning it however, the Rainbow Devil split into four blobs! All of which began bouncing around the area.

It's attacks however, were uncoordinated and X saw this as his chance to reach his friend. As he did so however, Blake was already getting back up rather groggily.

"You alright?" X asked.

Blake held her head slightly. "Just peachy." She joked as X gave a sigh of relief.

The blobs were now starting to co-ordinate themselves, moving in a circular pattern around the heroes.

"That covering is making sure we don't land a clean hit against this thing." Blake said, assessing their situation. "If we can just get through that, we may have a chance to take this monster down."

X suddenly realised what they had been doing wrong. "We've been attacking it individually, but that's not enough. We need to strike it together if we want to stop it!"

"What are you thinking?" Blake asked.

"You lead, I'll follow up. Just do what you did before and get me an opening."

Blake gave a nod as she leapt off, chasing after the blob with the robotic head inside it. Seeing this, the other blobs tried to get a grip on the Faunus, the three leaping at her from all sides.

Blake slashed the first one that came close, front flipping over the top of it and slashing as she passed by. The blob fell to the ground harmlessly. The second and third attacked in unison, lining up one in front of the other as they tried to land their pounces.

"No you don't!" X yelled, as a buster shot hit the one at the back. Upon connecting, it clattered into the blob in front of it. The two falling behind Blake in a jumbled mess. Blake now had a clear run to her target.

X meanwhile, began charging his buster again, the blue glow of power illuminating the nearby trees and making the charging noise he had become so accustomed to. He held it in place, aiming at his target, but he did not fire yet.

As Blake approached her target, the Rainbow Devil had just finished reforming into it's humanoid state. It was still unaware of their plan.

In that brief moment of hesitation from the opponent, Blake leapt towards it's head area, her arms crossed over each other. As she passed by the face, she swung them with all her might.

A split second later, the Rainbow Devil had two large gashes across it's face, that partially split it open. It had dealt with this before, and as it prepared to reform, it looked at Blake and laughed in it's disturbing robotic tone.

This time however, Blake smirked back. "Laugh while you can, jelly boy. X, now!"

The Rainbow Devil stopped laughing and turned ot face X. As soon as it did however, X fired his shot. It travelled with such speed that the monster had no time to react. The shot moved blindingly fast towards the now exposed head.

It made contact.

The effect was immediate. A shattering of glass could be heard as the red eye was broken into tiny fragments. This was followed by a clank as the buster shot travelled through the other side, piercing the metal at the back, before zooming off a short distance and dissipating.

The Rainbow devil stood dead still. It's wounds no longer reforming. It was like a statue, the only activity being the sparking of wires from the hole now blasted in it's head.

It started to quiver slightly, a few drops of liquid metal dripping down from various places. Then, without warning, it fell. Crashing to the ground before it quickly melted into a puddle, there to sink away into the earth, leaving only a few small patches behind.

A final clang as the robotic head fell to the earth, it's red light fully faded, and it's defeat assured.

"Finally. I though he'd never go down." Blake gave a relieved sigh to herself as she sheathed Gambol Shroud.

She then went over to Ruby, who was just beginning to try and pull herself back up. Carefully, Blake put her arm around her friend and helped lift her, letting Ruby lean on her for support.

"You OK, 'fearless leader'?" Blake asked.

"I ache all over." She grimaced as Blake gently held her. "I need some cookies."

Blake giggled at that. Typical Ruby, always thinking about sweet treats. Blake then looked over to X. He had picked up the Rainbow Devil's ruined head, staring into it's now destroyed eye, lost in thought.

"A Maverick? What was that supposed to mean?"

He was brought back to reality by something bursting out from the brush nearby.

"ALRIGHT! WHO WANTS A PIECE OF THIS?! I'LL TAKE ALL OF YOU ON RIGHT N-"

Yang looked around at the scene before her. Her eyes were still glowing red from her Wreathed Flames state being activated. Blake, X and Ruby all just stared at her, unsure how to react to what they had just seen.

"Are you kidding me?! I spent all that time getting out of that stuff, and when I get back to you, the fights already over?!"

Ruby gave her a cheeky grin. "Aw, don't worry sis. You'll get a chance next time!"

Yang gave a fake pout. "I still owe that thing a sucker punch for trapping me in that gooey stuff."

"It still needs some stab wounds from me too!" Weiss growled, marching over to her team. She was a little worse for wear after the initial beating she had taken, but a girl like Weiss was not so easily put down.

"Sorry Weiss. We already beat it. If it makes you feel better, you could always slice up it's head."

It was only after looking over to the object that Weiss noticed who was holding it. She walked up to X, arms folded.

"And just who are you?"

"Um... my name is X. I was sent to help you defeat that thing."

Weiss looked him over, taking in everything, sizing the Reploid up.

"Who sent you then? I haven't seen you around Beacon before."

X rubbed the back of his helmet. "Well, you'll probably be seeing a lot more of me around the Academy now!"

Weiss didn't need someone to tell her what that meant. "Ozpin let you in? Without initiation, halfway through the year?"

"Well, if he was able to help beat that monster when all four of us couldn't, then I guess he deserves to be in Beacon." Ruby theorised.

"I think you'll find it was Blake who defeated that thing." Weiss argued. 

"Not without him she couldn't. Come on Weiss, let's just be glad X showed up when he did." Ruby said, trying to bring the feud to a stop.

Weiss backed down, begrudgingly. Arms folded and staring away from X.

Yang gave X a slap on the back, causing the Reploid to nearly go flying forwards!

"Ignore her. Ice Queen can be like that sometimes." She said.

X straightened himself up again, still quite surprised by Yang's strength. "If you say so. But I think we should continue the introductions back at Beacon. There's a lot of stuff in this forest that wants us dead."

"Weiss being one of them!" Yang said to the side.

With that, the group started to make their way back to Beacon.

"Nice armour by the way X!" Ruby said.

"Thanks, Coco designed it for me."

"You've met Coco?" Blake asked. "Guess that means your armour didn't always look like that."

"I think it's an improvement on the last one." X admitted. "The energy scarf was a little too... much."

"What?! Energy scarves sound awesome!" Ruby shouted.

"I disagree." Weiss gave her two cents on the matter. "I'm also not a fan of that colour."

"You're not a fan of X in general." Yang pointed out.

"I like the colour, very chic." Blake said.

X thought to himself. "Well, I have to admit, I prefer blue. The style is good though."

"I can see blue working out." Ruby agreed, the others all nodding in approval, save for Weiss.

"Coco isn't going to take that criticism well. You do know that right?" The red Huntress warned.

"Oh yeah! She's gonna fight you tooth and nail to keep it like that!" Yang was getting excited, like she was hoping for a fight to happen.

"What can I say, the people have spoken!"

…

"You are going to back me up when I talk to her, right?"

The girls all shuffled uncomfortably.

"I would, but I don't want to be on the receiving end of a hand bag to the face." Blake sheepishly admitted.

"Or a mini gun." Weiss pointed out.

"Wait... what mini gun?" X asked.

 **Another one down! The next chapter or two will be a bit more mellow. Easing up on the action and having X get the full our of Beacon, as well as settling in!**

 **But still, mystery abounds! What was the Rainbow Devil doing in the forest, and the Reaverbots!**

 **Why has X been branded a Maverick?**

 **And why is Weiss so hostile to X?**

 **All will be revealed in time!**

 **Stay tuned for the continuing adventures of X, in: RWBY THE AGE OF METAL!**

.


	7. Time for an introduction

_**Ok, time to slow things down a bit for Chapter 6. But, there will be a little something to wet your appetites for later on, then we will go light hearted.**_

 _ **Alright, reviews!**_

 _ **ArmantusCumPinnae: My writing style is pretty much 'short and sweet'. If I did long chapters, you guys would be waiting for ages, and I'd lose my drive for the story. So it's probably better this way.**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: Yeah, Weiss may be in for a shock later on! As for the weapons, I do plan to include new ones for X. I'm actually finalising ideas now!**_

 _ **LL: The boss 'Rainbow Devil' did actually feature in the Megaman Zero series on GBA. You should check them out! They are difficult, but very fun!**_

 _ **atom king: X Hunters? Maybe? I was never really a fan of them, too goofy looking TBH.**_

 _ **mochiguy911: It's not so much X lost his fighting capability, it's just his memory loss made him forget how to fight certain enemies, hence his surprise with the bulletproof shielding. Also, I really don't want to put X with a team. Writing about so many characters is what made me scrap my first two ideas for this story!**_

 _ **With that sorted, CHAPTER HO!**_

 **Emerald Forest – A few hours later**

(Insert music: Megaman Legends 2: Forbidden Island – After the Storm)

The wind blew gently through the recent battleground, the leaves rustling gently, giving quite the contrast to the earlier events that had taken place.

The large crater that the Rainbow Devil had landed in during the fight, was already being reclaimed by various forest critters. Rabbits using the hole to get a head start on their burrows, birds picking up debris for their nests, and tufts of small grass growing back over the area.

By it's final resting place, there was little evidence left of the monster's existence. The small puddles of liquid metal were almost completely evaporated or soaked up into the soil that was now it's grave. To walk through here now, none would think that anything had been lost here, much less a robot of such power.

But it's loss was very much noticed. Which is exactly why the two cloaked figures now stood there. Examining what little remained of the terror.

Their cloaks were both hooded, with a colour of pure white all over them, save for the golden trim and purple inner lining. Their garments flapped slightly in the breeze as the looked at the small puddle that remained.

One of the figures knelt down and scooped up some of the material with their fingers, rubbing it between their finger and thumb. The figure then spoke to the other, with the voice of a young lady.

"It seems I asked too much of him. It was foolish of me to think that X would be felled by such a simple creature."

The figure accompanying her answered in a voice like that of a gentleman; proper and soft.

"It was not your fault mistress. Risking detection through the use of a larger force would have been a disastrous move. We had to put our faith that the Rainbow Devil would succeed. Alas, he has not."

The girl gave a small huff upon hearing that as the male figure continued.

"Given what little reports the Devil sent, it is highly likely that X has gone with those humans he helped earlier. I must admit, the humans fighting abilities have drastically increased over the millennia. Will we need to change our strategy?"

The girl wiped the liquid off her fingers onto the grass beside her before she stood to address her companion.

"For now, no. X still has no awareness of our presence, nor do he or those humans have the faintest idea about what they have unleashed. Until that level of knowledge changes to an amount that poses a threat, we have no need to alter our plans."

The girl looked over into the distance, to see the outline of Beacon Academy in the distance. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she turned her head to peak to her ally.

"Still, it would be unwise to leave things as they are. Assemble the others and have them meet in the chamber. We will need to gather the subjects more quickly than before. Jst to be safe."

The male figure bowed.

"As you wish, mistress."

With that, his body flashed white a few times, before teleporting away. The girl continued to look on at the distant city. A look of contempt and disgust on her face.

"You stopped my plans once before, X. You will not stop them this time!"

 **Beacon Academy**

Ruby Rose peered slightly over the top of an overturned table, her short black hair and silver eyes barely visible from the other side. She stared at the door, waiting for any sign of activity from within.

She then felt a tap from Blake, sitting next to her. Weiss and Yang were also there; Weiss filing her nails and looking very disinterested, while Yang was wearing an Atlesian army helmet and was hunkered down next to Blake.

"Well, how's he doing in there?" Blake asked.

Ruby ducked back down behind their makeshift barricade, crawling over to Blake quickly.

"Well, the good news is, she hasn't beaten him to a pulp yet. The bad news, I haven't heard from him since he went in there."

"Does that mean it's rescuing time?" Yang asked, loading up a Nerf shotgun with foam pellets.

"Let's just wait and see what happens." Ruby said, plucking the Nerf gun out of Yang's hand.

"This is ridiculous." Weiss grumbled. "Coco may be fashion crazy, but she's not that brutal." Weiss didn't even bother to look away from her nail filing.

"You clearly haven't seen her when discussing fashion. Remember what happened to Fox?" Yang reminded her friend.

"You told me he got those gashes from a battle with an Ursa."

"Nope, that's what happens when you let Coco attack you with stuff from her handbag! When she's mad at you, even her lipstick is a weapon!"

"Hey! I think he's coming out!" Ruby peered back over the top.

Yang then suddenly jumped up beside ruby, and fired the foam dart straight at the doorway, before immediately giving an embarrassed look as she saw who she had hit.

X looked up to find the dart stuck smack bang in the middle of the red crystal on his forehead.

"Nice shot Yang!" He joked before pulling the sticky projectile off his head and tossing it aside.

Team RWBY however, were staring in awe at X. He had a new look, and it was one they could all agree looked amazing. He had gone back to his original colour scheme, yet stuck with the design of the armour he had worn in the forest. The gold highlights were now black on his thighs and upper arms, and those on the legs,lower arms and shoulders were now cyan lights that glowed gently.

"You like it girls?" Coco asked, pulling her shades down slightly to reveal her eyes. "I call it 'TruForce Armour'. It seemed pretty fitting."

"PRAISE OUM! HE WENT BACK TO THE BLUE COLOUR!" Yang shouted, throwing her hands out like she was worshipping the sun.

"I love it!" Ruby squealed, before calming down immediately. "Can you do it in red too?"

"How did you manage to get Coco to agree with you on a fashion choice anyway? She never backs down from a debate about outfits." Weiss pointed out.

"Hence the barricades." Blake added, thudding one of the makeshift fortifications with her hand, which then unceremoniously fell down.

"You mean, you never tried just, I dunno, asking her nicely?" X queried.

The girls jaws dropped, this guy just had to freaking ask?

"Besides, unlike you four, he at least has a basic idea of what works. Sure I had to drag it out of him a bit, but the design was a compromise."

"Personally I think that look suits you remarkably well."

The group turned to see Professor Ozpin standing behind them. His cane and steaming mug of coffee present, as usual.

"Good morning Professor Ozpin." They all said in unison.

"Well X, it seems you've caused quite a stir here at Beacon already. All of the students are talking about this 'mystery Hunter' who saved one of the most capable teams in the entire school."

X looked over to team RWBY. Ruby and Yang were giving him cheesy grins and thumbs up, Blake just smiled kindly and Weiss... didn't even bother changing her expression.

"I feel it would only be right to introduce you to them."

X gave a puzzled look, before a voice rang out over the school tannoy system.

" _Will all students please report to the amphitheatre immediately."_

Ozpin took a quick drink from his mug. "You had better get going girls. You know how Glynda despises lateness. X, please come with me."

The teams started to make their way to the hall, with Ruby waving to X like a small child. As they made there way down the corridor, Ruby leaned over slightly and quietly spoke to Weiss.

"Mind telling me what that was about?" she asked.

"What?" Weiss queried, feigning ignorance.

"The gritted teeth, anger bubbling over the top, trying to hide your annoyance. What is it? You haven't been like this since we first met."

"It's none of your concern." Weiss huffed before quickening her pace to get away. Ruby easily matched it though and continued.

"As our team leader, it kind of is. You're not jealous, are you?"

"Of course not! I just find it a little bit insulting that those higher up seem to think we can't handle this ourselves.

Ruby practically face palmed, is that seriously all she was annoyed about?

"Weiss, you know they aren't saying that. This is bigger than just personal pride, they wouldn't bring help in otherwise. Just give X a chance, he's a really nice guy, and I'm sure he doesn't want this between the two of you."

"I'll tolerate him if that's what you're asking me to do. I can't promise any more than that though. There is something about that boy that doesn't add up!"

Ruby tried to reach out her hand to stop Weiss, but the heiress had already stormed off ahead of her team. Ruby couldn't help but feel a little saddened as Blake came up to her.

"She has a point, Ruby."

Ruby looked at Blake in slight surprise, she wasn't expecting Blake of all people to side with Weiss.

"I don't agree with Weiss' view if that's what you're thinking. It's just... when we fought that thing... X said a lot of stuff I had never heard about before. He knew what that thing was called. He knew about Neo Arcadia, which has only recently been made public knowledge! And he used that term... Maverick."

Ruby looked on at her black clad teammate as she thought about all that was being said.

"We just don't know enough about him to trust him yet. We need to know more about who he is if he is going to be fighting alongside us.

The teams had arrived at the packed amphitheatre.

"Well maybe that's why we're here." Ruby smiled as they made their way inside.

The girls made their way through one of the smaller doorways along the sides to get to their seats. The seating area surrounded one giant circular arena, complete with the Beacon Academy logo in the center of the floor. Behind this, a stage was set up, connected to various smooth metallic mechanisms that allowed it to be compacted into the floor and become a full size battle arena.

On the stage the teams could see Ozpin, standing at the central podium, and various other staff members seated behind him. Professor Goodwitch, Professor Port and Professor Oobleck were there to name a few.

Goodwitch was sitting, legs crossed, arms folded. She was obviously impatient to get back to her duties. Combined with the fact she hated large crowds, you could instantly tell she wasn't happy about what was going on. Ruby imagined that Goodwitch was in the same mindset as Weiss; unable to comprehend why they were making such a big deal over a student who had barely proved themselves.

Ozpin was just typing into his scroll, which he had linked up with the large monitor above the stage. Satisfied that everything was ready, he tapped the microphone on the podium. The simple sound alerting the students and sending them into silence, waiting for the Headmaster to address them.

"Good morning students. I am sure most of you are wondering why I have called the entire school to this assembly at such short notice."

He took a short pause, as the audience waited for with slight eagerness.

"The reason; is to welcome a new student to our school. However, I should make it known that this is no ordinary student."

Team RWBY were on the edge of their seats, eager to hear what Ozpin would reveal. Team CFVY just relaxed, waiting for that same feeling of surprise they had felt to wash over the rest of the students.

"As I am sure you are all aware, recent discoveries have given us proof that we were not the first beings to inhabit Remnant. We were preceded by a race far more advanced than we currently are. Indeed, much of their technology is being used by us as we speak."

The students remained silent, unsure as to where Ozpin was going with this line of thought.

"Unfortunately, not everything that came from that old world was able to survive the test of time. We only have stories and legends that hint back to these. One such legend is of machines with human like qualities. Robots with feelings, personalities... and souls."

Some students were chatting to each other excitedly. Robots with souls, such a concept was incredibly far fetched.

"I know, it sounds unthinkable, and why would you believe it anyway? It is after all, just a legend. But..."

There was suddenly a small clanking noise. Someone walking forward from the background, onto the stage. His blue highlights and red forehead crystal being the first thing that were visible, before he stood beside Ozpin on the stage, in full view of everyone.

"... there is always some truth in legends."

The students were shocked, there was no way. Surely Ozpin didn't mean that...

The screen above Ozpin's head suddenly flashed on to show a multitude of information. Various specifications about X, though most were unknown, as well as accompanying footage that gave demonstrations of each of his systems. His buster being used on the Rainbow Devil, his dash boots from travelling through the forest and his physical strength as he kicked the Devil aside.

"Students, I would like you to meet 'X'. The last known Reploid and now, your fellow student here at Beacon Academy."

The hall suddenly erupted in a mix of cheers and excited conversation. A real Reploid! Here to learn how to be come a Hunter, just like them! The students were ecstatic, including Ruby and Yang.

"I don't believe it." Blake said softly, not taking her eyes off X.

"You better! Eek! I can't wait! We're going to have a Reploid in our class!"

X gave a small wave around the hall as the students cheered him. It seemed this plan of Winter's was going to work out just fine.

It was then that his eyes were drawn to two students. He didn't know why at first, but there was something off about them.

The first was a darker skinned girl with emerald green hair. She wore a shallow cut, green top with a white over shirt that crossed over her collar area. She also wore white shorts with brown chaps that went down to her claves, and a pair of high heels. Her red eyes piercing through X's soul as she watched him.

There was also a boy next to her. He had messy grey hair that was lightly spiked and he wore a slate gray and black two-tone partial-zip jacket, that covered his upper body. On his arms were a set of rerebraces and vambraces. He also wore black trousers and heavy boots. He was much more relaxed looking, his leg resting atop his other one and his arms drapped out over the seat behind him. Again, he never took his eyes off X for a second.

X finally averted his gaze from the two, just as Ozpin was calming the hall down.

"Now then, although X is an ancient being, he still has the personality of a late teenager. One that is approximately 17 years old. As such, he will be joining the first year class and will partake in all lessons and missions available to that group."

A small "WOOOOO!" could be heard from a girl in the audience. X assumed it was Ruby.

"X may have a rather different history when compared to our regular students, but I expect you to treat him with the same level of respect and friendliness that you would treat any other student with. Thank you for your time students, you may return to your normal classes now."

Ozpin moved over to X to address him. The students all wanted to see him as well, but a quick whip of Goodwitch's riding crop sent them all scurrying for the doors.

"See you in class, X!" Yang shouted down to the Reploid. He gave a mock salute as a reply before focusing his attention on Ozpin.

"As I'm sure you are aware X, most students are placed into teams for the duration of their time here. Unfortunately, the numbers will not allow you to have a team of your own, but I will try to link you up with the teamns you have already met. Specifically teams RWBY, their close friends in JNPR and, if the situation arises, team CFVY as well."

He held out his hand and gave X a small tablet like object.

"This is your scroll, it will give you all the information you need such as timetables and maps of the school. It will also serve as your key for entering your room and for identifiaction to gain access to the library, communication tower and other areas."

X accepted the device gratefully and placed it into a slot in his arm, essentially making it a wrist communicator.

"Thank you professor. Now, if you'll excuse me, i'd rather not be late for my first class."

Ozpin smiled. "Of course, that will be all X. Good luck, and I hope you enjoy your time here with us at Beacon."

X promptly dashed off towards his classroom, leaving Glynda and Ozpin alone in the hall.

"He's just like any other student. It's hard to believe he is an 8000 year old machine."

"..."

"Are you sure he will be able to help us?" she asked.

"Glynda, you trusted my judgement with Miss Rose, didn't you? Just have a little faith. It may take a while, but I believe that he and those teams are the answers to our problems."

 **In a nearby hallway**

"Cinder? It's me. Listen, you're not going to believe who, or rather, what Ozpin has brought into Beacon."

...

"I'm certain it's him. Should we move to acquire him?"

...

"Alright then. We'll leave it in your hands then."

The green haired girl put her scroll away as the boy she was sitting beside walked up to her.

"Well Emerald. What's the plan?"

"The plan for us, Mercury, is to keep a low profile. She wants the Reploid, but we need to keep tabs on the 'invincible girl'."

"So, what's the boss gonna do then?" Mercury asked, adjusting something on his legs slightly.

"We just need to be ready to move in case things go wrong. Cinder is going to handle this one... personally."

 _ **DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUN!**_

 _ **So, it seems even Beacon is not a safe place for X to be! What is Cinder's plan for capturing him? And why does she want him in the first place?**_

 _ **Also, who on earth are the two figures at the start? Are they friends of Cinder's? Old acquaintences of X?**_

 _ **If you think you know, then please keep it to yourself, we don't want spoilers!**_

 _ **Keep the revies coming in as well! You're feedback is what inspires me to keep writing this story!**_

 _ **See you next time guys!**_


	8. Settling in

_**You know the drill guys! Let's start with reviews!**_

 _ ***Rustles through a box beside him***_

 _ **ArmantusCumPinnae: Maybe you do know who they are, maybe you don't :)**_

…

 _ **Then again, how would I know what you know, I'm no mind reader.**_

 _ **Atom king: I love it when people will actually get surprised by a villain reveal! It's so hard to do with an Xover story.**_

 _ **MetalSonic30: I know what I mean, and I'm sure you do too!**_

 _ **Darth Sinox: That point is still up in the air, I am kinda struggling to think what it would be so it may or may not happen.**_

 _ **Riderman09: Dankeschön.**_

 _ **LL: I'll help you out by answering some of those. It's not the Dark Elf and they are not linked to Cinder.**_

 _ ***Tosses box to the side***_

 _ **Right, back to slaving away over my writing computer while you enjoy yourselves!**_

 **Team RWBY's room**

"OH COME ON! I TOTALLY DODGED THAT!" Yang shouted at the screen, her hair blazing and her eyes glowing red.

"I told you this boss is cheap." Blake pointed out, engrossed in her reading, but still attentive.

"I'm gonna try again."

"Alright, he's going to charge, dash over him!" Ruby instructed.

Yang's finger hammered down on the trigger button mercilessly.

"Now! Dash into him!"

 **FINE PLAY!**

"Sweet!" Yang grinned upon hearing the game congratulate her.

"You've almost got him down to half health! Go Yang!" Ruby cheered her sister on.

Weiss was busying herself with some studying. How she was able to do so under the noisy circumstances was a mystery, but it was certainly impressive.

X meanwhile was watching the girl's playing the game with a slightly miffed look on his face. The hero of the game was remarkably similar to him. Albeit with a weirder look, dorky voice, no personality and a gun that may as well have been a peashooter!

"Hey, the professor is talking to you. Huh, I wonder why the boss is glowing blue all of a sudden."

At that moment, the enemy in the game charged at Yang's character and grabbed it. He then immediately self destructed and killed the character in one fell swoop.

" **Like a moth to a flame! Hahahaha!"**

"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDING ME?!"

"It's your own fault for not dodging." Blake stated, very matter of factly.

"That stupid professor was talking over the boss's voice! I couldn't hear the audio cues! HOW WAS I MEANT TO KNOW WHAT HE WAS GOING TO DO?!" Yang growled, she was now beyond mad.

"Well, that's what you have to expect with fan funded games. I'm guessing the didn't have much money to go around fixing stuff like this."

"How much did they spend on this game?" X asked.

"4 million Lien." Blake answered simply.

…

"4 million? For this?" X was genuinely shocked! Surely such a result from fan input was criminal!

"At least we got this game actually released." Ruby said, patting her sister on the shoulder gently. "Remember what happened to Ultimate Robot Myths 3?"

"Cancelled when the prototype was already finished." Yang sniffed, little tears in her eyes. "Never forget sister... never forget!"

"Is it really that big of a deal?" Weiss asked. "It's just a video game."

Ruby and Yang's jaws dropped open, they then proceeded to rush at Weiss, leaning in close to her with a fury in their eyes.

"Just...a...game?" Ruby snarled. "This! This is about more than just a game! This is a beloved character! A pillar of the video games industry, who has been beloved by fans for over 25 years! And not only, do the company forget about him, but the creator promises to make a spiritual successor to rival the original! And what do we get?"

Ruby pulled the disc case over to Weiss' face.

"THIS PIECE OF JUNK THAT SUPPOSEDLY COST 4 MILLION LIEN AND CRASHED ON STARTUP BEFORE THEY INSTALLED A PATCH!"

"It's too sad for words." Yang said, placing the back of her hand on her forehead and staring off into the sky somewhere, pretending she was about to faint. "Jaune is going to be really ticked off when he plays it, he backed 50 Lien into the project!"

"Jaune?" X seemed confused.

"One of our friends from team JNPR." Blake explained.

"Oh yeah, Ozpin told me about that team!"

"What did he tell you?" Ruby asked.

"Um... That their team exists? That's about it. I guess he wants me to arrange the meet ups myself."

"Well unfortunately, they are busy on a mission. Like I was assuming you should be." Weiss said, much to Ruby's annoyance. The scythe wielder giving the heiress a glare.

"So, what are they like?" X asked, eager to know more about the team.

"In a nutshell? Best backup you could have! We've been fighting together since our initiation. Hell, even during the initiation." Yang said, having finally calmed down and come out of her wreathed flames state.

"Kind of to be expected when your team has a four time regional tournament winner." Weiss added.

X seemed impressed.

"In fact, I have to say, Pyrrha could probably beat you in a fight X."

X knew Weiss was trying to get him riled up, but he would not fall for it. He punched his fists together, emitting a loud clang.

"We may just have to test that when she comes back."

Weiss went back to her studies, slightly irked by X's response.

X continued. "Well that's the 'P'. What about J, N and R? I'm assuming the J is Jaune? What's he like?"

"Jaune is... how do I put this?" Ruby thought to herself for a bit, scratching her head before answering. "He's... kind of the complete opposite. He's a nice guy, really well meaning but... he's lucky to even still be here."

"Damn straight, the only reason 'Vomit Boy' is still here is cause Pyrrha took it upon herself to train him up." Yang said, laughing slightly as she said the boy's unfortunate nickname.

X shrugged before imparting some wisdom on the girls. "Don't underestimate him. I pretty much started out the same way. I used to be weak as a kitten."

"I don't believe you. You're telling me the guy who sent an ancient robot sky high with one blast, started out as a weakling?"

X nodded, his smile turning down slightly as he thought back. He could remember that Reploid again, with his shining red and white armour and his blonde hair flowing from the back of his helmet. Alas, he could never remember the Reploid's name, but he still knew he was once his partner and friend.

He could remember training with him, wondering if he would ever be able to even match his skills. X thought back to what the Reploid had said to him.

" _Who knows? Maybe you'll be as strong as me one day!"_

His smile came back again. If only his friend could see him now. He had grown so much not just in his abilities, but in spirit as well. And now he was here with people who were proud to be his friends, and ready to fight with him for a better world.

"Yoohoo! Anyone in there?"

X was shaken from his daydreaming by Ruby waving her hand in front of his face. He jumped slightly as he came back to reality.

"If you kept taking moments like that in battle, no wonder people thought you were a weakling!"

X chuckled. "Well then, you better tell me about the other two team members before I drift off again."

Ruby got back on topic. "Well there's also Ren. He's kind of quiet, but really wise and a great fighter. But just a heads up, if you find him, you'll always find Nora."

"Oh, are they um... y'know..."

Yang fielded that query. "Only in Nora's mind. She follows Ren about like a lost puppy and Ren is kind of passive about the whole thing. Deep down, I'm sure he feels the same way."

Yang suddenly pulled out a glass mug of ice tea from nowhere.

"But that's none of my business." she said before taking a sip, pulling a face of disgust and chucking the beverage out the window.

"Well, I hope I get meet them soon. If they're as nice as you say they are then we should get along with no problems."

Suddenly, X felt his scroll buzzing slightly. He brought up a holographic screen from his wrist to check. It was a notification, all of team RWBY had gotten it too, though they didn't bother to check it. Yang simply stood up, stretched slightly before thrusting her arms in the air and yelling.

"Lunchtime! Finally, I'm starving!"

The group started to make their way down to the lunch hall, X included.

"Isn't this a little awkward for you X? I mean, you don't eat anything... do you?" Blake asked.

"Well, no I don't, but I'd still like to try and fit in as much as possible. It's not like you're not allowed to talk during lunch, so I still have a reason to come with you."

As they entered the dinner hall, all eyes fell upon X. A few just ignored him and went back to their meals but most were eager and excited to speak to him. As a result, he was immediately surrounded by people asking him to sit with them.

Ruby motioned her sister over. "Yang, if you would be so kind?"

Yang swiftly marched over to X and lifted him above her head, resting him on her shoulder above the crowd. X was understandably a little embarrassed as Yang forced her way through the crowd to where team RWBY was sitting.

As soon as they arrived, she plonked him back down onto the bench beside Ruby. Yang sat on the other side, the two guarding him from the other students. Blake and Weiss sat opposite them.

"Was that really necessary?" X asked.

Yang simply shrugged before picking up a menu card. "Oh sweet! Ghost chilli curry! I am so trying that!"

X raised a finger and was about to explain to Yang but he decided against it. She would find out soon enough. The girls all got up.

"Well, I know what I want, let's go get some grub! We'll be right back, X!"

The girls had chosen some seating near the serving area, so that they could head straight back if X was being pestered. As it turns out though, even that wasn't enough.

Within seconds of the girls leaving the table, X was suddenly surrounded by other students. All of them seemed pretty friendly but they were bombarding him with questions.

"Is it true your over 8000 years old?"

"Where can I get a gun like that?"

"What were the old civilizations like?"

"Were there lots of robots like you, or were you the only one?"

"Hey, how about a battle?"

Blake looked on with slight annoyance. X had only just gotten here, give the guy a break. She wanted to march back there and shoo the others away, but Ruby placed a hand on her arm.

"He'll be fine, let's just hurry and get our food so we can get back to him."

Begrudgingly, she did as Ruby suggested, leaving X to deal with the crowd around him.

 **3 minutes later**

As it turned out, Blake need not have worried. X had quickly gotten the students around him to settle down and the result was almost like a press-conference. Each student was asking their question one at a time to X, with the rest eagerly awaiting the answers.

Over at the serving counter though, Weiss was still grumbling.

"I just don't see what the big deal is. He hasn't done anything that remarkable."

"You mean besides stay alive for 8000 years, destroy an ancient robot and convince Coco to change her mind?" Yang jokingly questioned.

"Regardless." Weiss continued. "I still think it's a lot of fuss over nothing. We've been able to handle whatever has been thrown at us before, so why start bringing in help now?"

Ruby just shook her head as she slid her tray over to the desert area. Strawberry cookies! Thank you Oum!

Back at the table, X was actually starting to enjoy all this attention. Did he crave it? No. But it was nice to have the attention of people that didn't want you dead. It was then however, that he heard something over the rest of the crowd. He focused his audio sensors on the sound. It was like... whimpering?

He quickly stood up and surveyed the room. Mostly, he just saw other students going about their business. That was until he saw a sight that made his (metaphorical) blood boil.

It was a student with a different uniform on, presumably visiting from another academy. She was a Faunus, sporting a pair of white fox ears and a matching tail as well. It was difficult to see that however, given that she was surrounded by four male students, who were all teasing the poor girl, pulling her tail and ears.

"Cardin's at it again I see." A student said.

"Cardin?" X asked.

"Cardin Winchester. He and his team are the school bullies, tough guys and generally not the sort you want to get involved with."

X stepped back from the table and started to make his way over to the group.

"Hey, where are you going?" The same student asked.

X turned to face him, looking slightly angry as he did so. "To get involved."

X made his way over to the group, his gaze focused solely upon them, fury in his eyes. As he got closer to them he could hear them making fun of the girl.

"Ha, what a freak!"

"Aw, look! The stupid animal is crying!"

The girl had unshed tears in her eyes as she tried to get away.

"Go on, pull her tail, you'll see it's real!"

That was as far as X was going to let them get. Just as one of the bullies was about to grab the Faunus girl's tail, X intervened.

"What do you think you're doing? Leave her alone!"

Cardin and the others turned to look at X. Their looks were a mix of surprise and anger.

"Well, well! Turns out little tin can thinks he's a big hero! Do yourself a favour and leave, this is between us and the dog here."

"I said, leave her alone!"

Cardin let go of the Faunus girl's ear, allowing her to get away from the group.

"Clearly you don't know who you're dealing with. If you had any idea who we are, you'd be running for your life right now."

X smirked. "Oh I know who you are. Cardin Winchester, self proclaimed tough guy. Though it's kind of hard to tell since you only pick fights with people smaller than you!"

Cardin's eyes widened in surprise. Who the hell did this guy think he was. He looked to see his teammates sniggering at him a little. At least until X dived into them too.

"No surprise your lackies are here too. Russel Thrush, Sky Lark and Dove Bronzewing. At least Cardin has some guts by doing his own dirty work. One would think you guys would be getting tired of being his lap dogs!"

"That does it!" Cardin growled.

"X, look out!" Ruby shouted over to her friend.

Cardin swung at X with a right hook, only to have X easily dodge it. X then slammed his own arm down on top of Cardin's extended one, the force of the blow causing Cardin to use his free hand to support his arm and fall to one knee while he recovered.

Dove then tried to hit X with an uppercut. The Reploid simply leaned back slightly to allow the fist to harmlessly pass by him.

"No, no. You're posture is all wrong. This is how you do it."

X then demonstrated the correct method with an uppercut that sent Dove skyward slightly, before he came back down to the ground with a thud, dazed and out of action for the moment.

It was now Sky's turn to try. In comparison to to his allies, Sky was the quickest fighter of the group. He took several swings at X, alternating between left and right hooks, as well as using a few kicks to try and catch X off guard.

It didn't matter how fast Sky was though. For all his speed, he didn't have as much strength to back it up. The few blows that did hit X may as well have been pokes, they had no energy behind them.

X started to advance on Sky, the boy backing towards a nearby wall, it seemed intimidation would be enough to put a stop to Sky's antics. That was the case until Russel got involved.

Russel was definitely a but of a loose cannon, and his attack method actually surprised X slightly. He sprinted towards the Reploid before stepping onto the table and leaping at X. He grabbed him by the neck and wrapped his legs around X's waist for support. His initial plan seemed to have been to choke X into submission. Of course Russel had forgotten that Reploids don't breathe.

With that said, he was still making life difficult for X, using his weight and strength to throw X off balance as well as covering his eyes to try and buy time for his teammates.

Sky looked around for anything that could help them. His eyes fell upon a metal serving tray. Grabbing it and tossing the food that was on it to the side, he charged at X.

"Get him Sky!" Russel ordered, struggling to hold on somewhat.

Sky did as instructed and swung the tray with all his might. He hit X squarely on the head, the metallic clanging reverberating throughout the hall, along with a mix of "ooooo's" from the students. An attack like that had to hurt.

Sky obviously thought so too, the tray did have a massive dent in it, until he pulled the tray back and saw X simply looking daggers at him.

X reached over his back and grabbed Russel by the back of his armour. He then threw Russel straight at Sky, the two grunting in pain as they ended up in a jumbled heap on the floor.

Cardin had only just recovered and charged at X. As he got close however, X simply gave a low punch to his gut, the boy doubling over in pain. He looked at X with frustration, before his eyes widened as X got the tray that Sky had used on him and smacked Cardin in the face with it. The bully falling down with a groan, practically unconscious.

X looked at the tray that was now a bit more like it's original shape after making contact with Cardin's face.

"I'm sure the rest of that will buff out."

The other students simply laughed.

"Now do yourself a favour, team CRDL, and stay out of trouble. I'd hate to have to actually try when I fight against you."

A mix of "Oooooh's" and cheers came from the students as X headed over to the Faunus girl.

"You alright?" he asked gently.

"I am now, thank you." the girl replied softly. "Aren't you worried they'll come after you now?"

X looked over at the defeated bullies, most still groaning in pain. "They can try, but if I catch wind of them bullying any other students, you can bet I won't go as easy as I did this time!"

If the X that had first been introduced to the world had come across the situation, he probably would have tried to talk the bullies down. But X was much older and wiser than he used to be. Although he was not a fan of extreme violence, he knew that a beat down was the only way he was going to get through to bullies such as CRDL.

He made his way back over to his seat, the other students still gathered around hwere he was, eager to get back to their questions.

"Now, where were we?" X asked.

The students immediately erupted into questioning again, as team RWBY were still watching from a distance before starting to make their way back too.

"Hopefully that's the last we see of Cardin's antics for a while." Blake said.

"He' ll try to get back at X at some point. Probably when he's realigned his busted jaw!" Yang laughed.

"I'll admit, it was noble, what he did for that girl. I still think this is all just overhyped though. You'll see."

Here eyes narrowed slightly as she watched X laughing with the other students.

"You'll all see..."

 _ **Chapter done! If you guess which game I was referencing at the start, you'll get an internet cookie!**_

 _ **So, I know people are going to say that X would never do something like this, but this is a much more battle hardened X now that he is starting to get some of his memories back.**_

 _ **The next chapter will feature Team JNPR, as well as a rather unexpected foe!**_

 _ **Until then...**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	9. Brawl in the Desert - Part 1

_**Alright, chapter 8 and time for the introduction of team JNPR. I think it's long overdue, but here they are!**_

 _ **Review time!**_

 _ **atom king: Whatever it is, it will need to be sorted out though!**_

 _ **Riderman09: Hehe, yeah, had fun reking Cardin. As for Zero, wait and see! :3**_

 _ **MetalSonic30: Here you go, you want milk with that?**_

 _ **EvaShinobiKaiserKnight: Oh don't get me wrong, MN9 is a very fun game... when it works. I have the PC version and it still screws up. Let's be honest, as fun a game as it is, it never quite got around to filling the blue bombers shoes.**_

 _ **Darth Sinox: Have a cookie anyway!**_

 _ **Guest: COOKIE!**_

 _ **Pea Brain Writer: Well, he does remember his creation. He doesn't remember the rest of X1 because... spoilers. His out of character thing, yeah kind of, but I do want X to be developed a bit more. He is meant to be human like so having anger at such a sight is only natural, and people do out of character things when they are angry. Lastly...you're right actually! Their names do sound kinda like bosses!**_

 _ **ArmantusCumPinnae: You must be the No.1 fan of this story mate! Yes, Ultimate Robot Myths 3 was Legends 3 (Gives a double cookie). As for discovering his memories, I won't spoil how it happens, but X will get a massive memory shock real soon!**_

 _ **CasualFictionWriter23: Glad you liked the chapter 5 fight. As for having so much time on my hands, thats only cause of the summer. That and I'm a quick typist. Cinder wants X for the same reason she wants everything else in the canon series: Power. Also, it's not Berkana and Gareth, but that was a very good guess. Very few people know of the Xtreme games! (Gives a bag of cookies). Final question: I may mention Corrupted, I have been following it intensely (Check out Variable Zero too!) X lost all his old weapon data when he lost his memory, but he may get some old favourites back! As for Weiss, wait and see!**_

 _ **Reviews done! On we go!**_

Team JNPR sat aboard a Bullhead as it tore through the skies over Remnant. Ordinarily they would not be travelling at such a pace, but the pilot and team both knew that time was not on their side.

This tense mood was reflected in their expressions. Pyrrha was standing, holding on to one of the support ropes as she watched scenery fly past the side door window. Her bronze armour gleaming from the streaks of sunlight that broke through the window, a look of focus on her face.

The rest of her team were much the same. Ren was preparing his weapons, checking he had adequate ammunition, and that both his guns and blades were in working order. Nora was excitedly trying to figure out what sort of grenades to use, weighing up her options with the pros and cons of each. Ultimately, she decided to take a mix of everything!

Jaune was staring into space, seemingly daydreaming, but Pyrrha knew him better than that. He was psyching himself up for what was to come. Pyrrha had taught him to do this very early on in their training, as she said:

" _Having the skill to fight is one thing, having the mind to fight is another matter entirely."_

Such a lesson would be vital right now, especially since they had no idea what they were up against! An emergency call had come through for the team, requesting their assistance. Word had been sent back to Beacon, and they were now waiting on information from Goodwitch.

As fortune would have it, she contacted them just before they were meant to land. A small holographic projection of the teacher appearing in the middle of the team.

"Team JNPR, thank you for acknowledging the emergency call. I appreciate this was not part of your mission, but you are one of the few student teams we feel are capable of engaging such a threat."

"What exactly is it that we are up against, Miss Goodwitch?" Ren politely asked.

The hologram of Glynda hit a few buttons on her scroll before it vanished and was replaced with a plan view of their destination.

"The area you see before you is the Vacuo oil fields. As you are aware, these oil fields are a vital lifeline for the few cities that have been established in the desert landscape. Without the power from the oil fields, the city defences will be disabled, including the shield generators that protect them from ferocious sand storms."

The hologram switched to a live feed. The sight was one the Hunter's hoped not to see, large numbers of Grimm running towards the oil fields.

"Don't worry Miss Goodwitch. I'm sure we will be able to drive these Grimm back into the desert."

"Well, the Grimm are only half our problem."

The hologram feed panned back, to reveal another, more surprising sight. The Grimm were being backed in towards the oil fields, by a rather large swarm of robots! The team watching on in slight disbelief.

"What are those supposed to be?" Jaune asked nervously.

"Reaverbots." Goodwitch answered. "Ancient machines designed for an unknown purpose. They are responsible for driving the Grimm into the area. In addition, they are also aiming to destroy the oil fields. As for who instructed this attack, we don't know. All that matters now is that you protect the oil wells. If any get through, they will ignite the oil wells and set the whole reserve ablaze!"

"No pressure then!" Jaune laughed nervously.

"Remember what you were taught, and utilize your strengths. We'll have the Schnee Company send you information about the Reaverbot's you encounter as soon as possible. Good luck Team JNPR. Goodwitch out."

The pilot then shouted back to the team. "Ready up! We'll be dropping into the thick of the action! I want to get up and out of here before they focus fire on the ship!"

JNPR got their gear ready and stood beside the two side doors, Nora and Ren on the right, Jaune and Pyrrha on the left.

Nora licked her lips as she loaded her grenade launcher. "This'll be fun!"

The doors opened and team JNPR was greeted by a large amount of heavy blaster fire, a shot passing just over Jaune's head and whizzing out the other side. The team disembarked and hit the dirt, all the while hearing the clang of shots hitting their Bullhead before it finally got clear and flew away.

Pyrrha took a look up and saw a sight that, under any normal circumstances, would be welcome to her.

The Grimm (a Beowolf pack) were being cut to pieces, literally in some cases! A large, pink humanoid Reaverbot was cleaving it's way through a pack of Beowolve's. It had a large spiked protrusion coming out of the bottom of it's short, cylindrical torso. The small head held the traditional glowing red eye. Most significant of all were it's arms. Easily the size of the whole Reaverbot's height, instead of hands it sported a pair of giant, three pronged blades that also functioned as claws.

A Beowolf made a brave effort to swipe at one of the monstrosities, slashing at it with it's claws. The Reaverbot thrust it's arm forward and pierced the creatures chest, the Beowolf howling in pain.

The Reaverbot was not yet done however. With a look that showed no mercy, it started to expand it's claw. Even from their distant observation point, team JNPR could hear the bones and muscle within the Grimm being pulled apart and snapping. The claw slowed for a bit, seemingly meeting some final resistance before the inevitable happened.

The Beowolf's corpse could hold no longer. With one final snap, it's body was split into three sections, dark vapour pouring out of every new opening. The remains fell into the soft sand before fading away into nothingness.

"What the hell?" Ren said. A mix of disbelief and disgust in his voice. He quickly regretted saying anything.

The Reaverbot that they had just witnessed perform a brutal killing, quickly turned it's head to where the team was! Team JNPR ducked back down behind one of the dunes in a panic.

The area then fell silent. The Beowolf's took their chance to run for it, making for an area of open desert far away from the oil field. This new development was by no means good news however. If the Reaverbot's had stopped marching towards the oil fields, they may have been aware of JNPR's presence!

Keeping their head's down, the team listened as they heard a few of the bots march off in different directions, looking for them. They waited, breathing quietly as the sounds of marching continued.

A few more seconds passed before Jaune spoke up.

"Well, looks like they didn't hear u-"

 ***POOM** *

Jaune was interrupted by a three pronged claw stabbing through the sand dune they were leaning against, the blade mere inches from his head! He scrambled backwards, practically rolling down the dune in shock.

JNPR readied their weapons, aiming them at the attacker's blade. They were struck with awe though, as the Reaverbot stood to it's full height. The light whirring of it's mechanical joints giving it a fanfare as it arose, and it's red eye focusing upon them. As it did this, two more came to stand by it's side, again locking their targets.

"Sharukurusu's! Watch yourselves!" Goodwitch warned over the team's scroll speakers. "These metal juggernauts have claws made of a durable metal known as Ceratanium. It is practically indestructible! With that said, the body is a mix of kevlar and carbon fibre, you should still be able to cut through it."

"Any other tips, professor?" Ren asked.

"Despite their size, they are still fairly agile, though nowhere near as capable in that department as you. They also have a ranged attack by generating energy from that spike on the bottom of their torso."

"Well, you heard Miss Goodwitch, let's take them out!" Nora said, getting into a combat pose, holding Magnhild in both hands.

Jaune had recovered from his trip down the dune and ran to rejoin his teammates, drawing Crocea Mors into both sword and shield. He gulped slightly at the sight of the three Reaverbots standing over them, especially since they were at least an extra half of their height.

He took a quick look over to Pyrrha, who was still fully focused on the enemy. Looking back to the foe, Jaune shook his head quickly, steeling his resolve and readying for battle.

(Insert music: Megaman ZXA Tunes – Flashover (Oil Field – Atlas Stage)

Nora immediately charged forward, straight at the Sharukurusu on the right hand side.

"I got this one!" she said, pulling her hammer back.

"FORE!" Swinging it forward like a golf club, she sent her target flying off into another dune some distance away.

Nora held her hand over her forehead, watching how far her makeshift golf ball had landed. Giving a small nod of self appreciation, she swung her hammer behind her and squeezed the trigger on the handle. The resulting blast propelled the bubbly fighter forwards so she could catch up to her opponent.

The other two Sharukurusu looked at each other in apparent disbelief for a moment. That was until they turned to face the remaining team JNPR members with newfound rage. One stomping the ground while the other raised it's claws to the sky.

Ren wasted no time and made a charge for one of the Reaverbots. He reached it in a mere second, dashing past it's right hand side. As he did so however, he he gave it a slash in the leg. As Ren turned around, the Reaverbot had fallen onto it's damaged knee. Ren tried to follow up with a slash to the head area, but the Reaverbot turned it's torso and head suddenly, raising both of it's claws to block the strike.

As tough as Ren's Stormflower blades were, they were not as tough as Ceratanium. As the blades made contact, Ren found himself being forced back by the Reaverbot's superior strength. He was shoved backwards, landing safely on both feet in the soft sand.

He had only just looked up when he saw the Sharukurusu charging at him, it's upper body lowered slightly. Despite it's size, it was impressively fast, as one could tell from Ren's gasp as he found himself dodging a stab from the foe. It quickly spun it's torso 360 degrees to put more power into it's next strike. Ren knew he did not have the power to block such hits, resorting to rolling underneath the attack. He landed just in front of his opponent, the Reaverbot looking down at him before trying to stomp him into the desert sand.

Pyrrha too had engaged her target. This one seemed to fight rather differently. Unlike Ren's which was very aggressive, Pyrrha's opponent simply stood there. It was waiting for the Spartan girl to make the first strike.

She would gladly oblige.

Wielding Xiphos in it's sword form and Akouo placed firmly in front of her, she engaged her opponent, running up to attack range. She did not engage straight away however. Instead, the two started to step around in a circular pattern, very slowly as they waited for the other to strike.

Pyrrha suddenly swung with her blade, the Reaverbot raising it's claw to block it easily. It in turn countered with a stab from it's other claw. Akouo would not let it's mistress come to harm so easily, the shield giving a defiant clang as the claw fell upon it.

Seeing an opening, Pyrrha gave a stab to the Sharukurusu's torso while he was using both his claws. Xiphos struck true and pierced a hole into the metallic giant's body. Though it did little to impact the opponent, it was certainly a good start.

What followed however, was not. As Pyrrha pulled back for another stab, the spike protruding from the Sharukurusu's torso started to glow slightly. Before Pyrrha could even realise what was happening, it fired an energy projectile into the sand beneath itself.

The force of the explosion threw Pyrrha back, forcing her to drop Xiphos in the process. She gave small grunt of pain as she hit the sand, some distance away from her starting point.

The Reaverbot wasted no time, leaping skyward and aiming to land on top of Pyrrha. Realising this, Pyrrha raised her shield over her head, just as the Reaverbot was landing, it's claws both raised to try and smash down on her.

Another clang as the Ceratanium claws impacted the shield, though it still refused to even dent from such an attack. The only reason for this however, was that Pyrrha had been focusing her semblance into her shield to allow it to withstand such strikes. The material the Sharukurusu was constructed from made her semblance practically useless.

The Sharukurusu withdrew both it's claws for another attack, slamming down again with one of them. Pyrrha blocked the strike and reached for Xiphos. Only to realise with horror that she had lost it.

With nothing else to block an attack, the Sharukurusu's other claw was able to land a strong hit on Pyrrha, hitting her on the side and knocking her a several feet in the other direction.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune cried. He started to run to his teammates aid.

Suddenly, the ground started to rumble. Everyone, including the Reaverbot's started to look around for the source of the shaking. The Reaverbot that had attacked Pyrrha looked down at it's feet, that was where the shaking was coming from.

Without warning, a stream of sand suddenly erupted around the Reaverbot, and a large black pincer grabbed onto it. The pincer swung the Sharukurusu around like it was a child's play thing, before pulling it back under the sand.

Jaune reached Pyrrha who was still staring in surprise at what she had just witnessed.

"You alright?" he asked, helping her up.

"Just a few bruises, thank you Jaune." she replied, she couldn't help but notice Jaune blush a little when he was helping her.

"Did that claw look a little familiar to you?" Pyrrha asked.

Jaune was a little puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it certainly wasn't a Reaverbot, why would it attack it's own kind otherwise. In fact it almost looked like a Grimm."

Jaune suddenly clicked on to what Pyrrha was getting at.

Before he could say anything however, the ground rumbled again, and a large explosion of sand took place just in front of the duo. It quickly settled however, giving way to an unwelcome sight.

"Oh no, not you again!" Jaune groaned.

A Death Stalker.

Jaune remembered fighting this all too well during initiation. They had defeated it, but only just.

Pyrrha's hand started to glow black, as she pulled Xiphos back to herself with her polarity semblance. Catching it, she readied herself once more for a fight. The Death Stalker gave an almighty roar and made for the Beacon students.

Ren meanwhile, was still engaging his original opponent. His battle had moved further away from Pyrrha and Jaune. Backing away from his target, he opened fire with his weapons in machine pistol form. Alas, the bullets bounced off the Sharukurusu's armour harmlessly. The Reaverbot raised a claw to strike at Ren.

"Back off, creep!"

Suddenly, Nora slammed down on the Reaverbot's head with her hammer. As soon as the blow landed, she back flipped and swung with her hammer side on, knocking the Reaverbot over.

"Nora! You're okay!" Ren gave a sigh of relief.

"Pfft. Yeah! Like that hunk of junk was ever gonna give me a problem."

It was at that precise moment however, that Ren's Sharukurusu got back up and at the same time, Nora's one leapt up to the battle as well.

" _This_ might be a problem." Ren said as the two Hunters moved back to back to protect each other.

Suddenly, Nora had an idea. "Ren, you up for a little combo?"

"What did you have in mind?" he asked.

"Dahlia."

 _ **(Author's note: A Dahlia is a type of pink and green flower.)**_

Ren nodded and leapt skyward, landing on the end of Nora's hammer. He then placed his Stormflowers in to melee form and outstretched his arms. Nora then started to spin around, letting her hammer build up momentum.

The two Reaverbot's looked at each other. The two Hunter's were now a mere blur, they were spinning so fast. With precise timing, Nora squeezed the trigger on her hammer and a burst from the end of the hammer sent them moving straight towards the Reaverbot's.

The two never knew what hit them.

As soon as the spinning duo made contact, Ren's blades acted like a buzzsaw. Pieces of the Reaverbot's were broken off and sent flying in all directions.

Finally coming to a halt, Ren stepped off and Nora admired their handiwork. Their opponents had been completely decimated, their remains still sparking slightly. She then looked over to Ren, who was stumbling about slightly.

"Nora. Please. Don't do that move again unless we need to."

"Anytime now you two!" Jaune shouted over to them.

"Hee hee! Coming Jaune!" Nora answered, skipping off towards Jaune and Pyrrha with Ren gingerly following suit.

 **Neo Arcadia – Monitoring Station**

A large screen showed direct feed from the Reaverbots that had been battling team JNPR earlier on.

Watching this screen was a man in a white scientist coat, with golden cuffs. His legs were covered in purple armour and on his head was a purple helmet, with two silver pieces and a blue diamond shaped crystal.

"Well... So much for that. I guess these humans are slightly more impressive than I thought."

The female cloaked figure walked up to him, her heels clicking on the floor as she did so.

"Enjoying the show?" she asked.

The tall figure gave a loud, exaggerated sigh. "Not in the slightest. Such a force should have been easily able to subdue any resistance from these humans, it seems I underestimated their powers. How did they even evolve these abilities in such a short timespan?"

"A good question, but it is one that we can answer later. For now we must focus on collecting the essence from these creatures known as 'Grimm'. Use whatever tools you feel are necessary to collect the samples."

Looking back to the screen, the man saw JNPR facing against the Death Stalker. The man grinned evilly. "I think I have just the thing."

He made his way across the room to a communication terminal and connected the link to a storage bay. "Wakey, wakey Scorpia."

Over the comm link, the sounds of machine powering up and clanking could be heard. The sound of multiple legs stomping could be heard in the distance, as a giant robot with four red eyes came forward into view.

"Good boy. Get yourself loaded up, we have a mission for you." the man said.

As the Scorpia went about it's preparations, the female figure spoke again. "Remember, your main objective is to collect that essence, only engage the humans if necessary."

"I understand."

"One more thing. I recruited you into our plan, because I believe you are among the finest our race has to offer."

The girl started to walk out of the room before looking back at the man.

"But there is still time for me to change my mind."

The man gulped slightly at that. Shaking it off, he returned to his duties.

 _ **There we go, edited the ending somewhat, it will fit in with the plot better.**_

 _ **Stay tuned for the second part of the fight folks!**_

 _ **Review as well!**_


	10. Brawl in the Desert - Part 2

_**Second part of the fight guys!**_

 _ **Before we start though, I think I will change up the formula. I won't be doing ALL the reviews at the start of each chapter. Simply because it gets a bit too repetitive and some people (not saying anyone so far) may try to work out story details by process of elimination from my answers.**_

 _ **With that said, I will answer some key ones or first time commenters.**_

 _ **On we go!**_

Ren and Nora arrived in the midst of the epic struggle that was currently taking place. The Reaverbot's had actually proven to be quite a challenge. A Death Stalker was by no means easy, but they were confident in their abilities, not to mention the score between them and the Death Stalker was 1-0.

As the approached the beast, Jaune rolled towards them, dodging an attempt by the Death Stalker to grab him with it's pincer. Standing back up he faced Ren and Nora, slightly out of breath.

"Hey, you made it... phew!" Jaune bent over to catch his breath. "You have any problems with your fights?"

"Nah." Nora grinned. "They were real _cut ups._ "

Ren pinched the brow of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, did she seriously just make a pun? It was bad enough with Yang doing it.

The joke went over Jaune's head however, the blonde looking slightly confused at Ren's reaction.

"Inside joke, you had to be there." Ren clarified.

"I would appreciate some assistance here!" Pyrrha shouted over to her team.

(Insert music: Monster Hunter – Desert Battle theme)

The trio turned to face the Death Stalker. Pyrrha was currently atop it's back, giving several stabs and slashes to the Grimm's back and the base of it's tail. It only served to aggravate the Death Stalker however, the Grimm trying to use it's pincers to grab Pyrrha in response.

Pyrrha saw one claw coming behind her. Skilfully, she back flipped over it, landing a quick swipe against it as she did so. Landing on it's back again, she then turned around and slashed at the base of it's tail. As it roared in pain, it tried again to grab the Spartan girl. The claw was coming at a higher point this time. Pyrrha braced herself, then ran straight at the claw. As soon as she was close enough, she jumped in between the two pincers, landing safely on the other side before resuming her assault.

"What are we waiting for?" Nora asked.

Ren and Jaune gave a nod to each other and the trio charged toward battle once more.

With it's attacks becoming far more frequent and dangerous, Pyrrha decided now was the time to disengage. Turning, she ran along the Death Stalker's back, towards the head area. Sliding under one final claw swipe, she leapt off the head. As she did so however, she spun around in the air and switched her weapon to rifle form. Taking aim, she fired three shots. The first two bounced harmlessly off the creature, but the third hit one of its many eyes.

The Death Stalker roared in pain, a claw held to its eye as it tried to ignore the pain. Pyrrha landed alongside her team and readied her weapon into spear form again, prepared for another attack.

The Death Stalker, now fuming with rage, raised it's claws to the sky, preparing to strike. That was it's plan anyway.

From the sand directly beneath it, a huge metal spike shot forth. The Death Stalker had no time to react. With a screech of pain, it reared from the force of the strike, the sudden attack piercing the beast right through. The roar soon died down, as the Death Stalker's life ebbed away, before its claws fell limp.

Team JNPR could not believe their eyes, or their luck. Their foe had just been taken out in one fell swoop! But by what?

The spike suddenly started to protrude further out from the sand. The team could now see that it was attached to a metallic object made up of several green sections. Each section had a pair of red crystal circles on either side, and the spike itself at the top was decorated with a gold rim.

The appearance of it, was the least impressive thing however. As it rose out of the sand, it lifted the corpse of the Death Stalker with it! Considering the Grimm's size, that should not have been feasible.

The ground shook once again, and the rest of the Grimm killer showed itself. And what a sight it was.

It was a robotic scorpion, though unlike any JNPR had ever seen. It still had the green and gold colour scheme, with additional white highlights on its four thin, pointed legs. The green body gave way to a silver head with four glowing red eyes, and a pair of metallic protrusions that looked like small mouth mandibles.

On its right side was a large disc shape that seemed to replace a claw. It glowed red slightly, and had a large hole in the front of it. A cannon, it seemed. One missing claw was on real issue though, as the other one more than made up for it. Extending from ground level, up to the highest point of its legs, it was a formidable sight. The interior rim also seemed to glow hot, like the metal was super heated!

Team JNPR backed away slightly, the Scorpia staring them down, small beeps and whirrs coming from its HUD. It was scanning them, studying them for any weaknesses or flaws. A small click as it shut off its scanner. Then, it pulled its tail back, the Grimm still skewered atop it, before flinging the corpse off into the desert sand. It landed with an almighty crash.

On its tail however, something still remained. An orb, completely black with wisps of black smoke surrounding it.

"Can you feel that?" Ren asked.

Pyrrha nodded. "The energy from that thing. The darkness."

"It feels so familiar. Did it... did it come from that Grimm?" Jaune theorised.

"I think so." Pyrrha answered. "It almost seems like a Grimm soul."

"Since when do Grimm have souls?" Nora asked, confused.

"Call it what you want; a soul, spirit, essence. Regardless of its name, that orb is what makes a Grimm a Grimm."

"Okay." Jaune said nervously. "So this thing can kill a Death Stalker in one blow, and take its very being from its body. We might be in trouble here."

Nora defiantly stepped forward. "We can't just run! Not with this thing on the loose!"

Ren readied his Stormflowers and joined his teammate. "Nora's right. If we leave now, this monster will destroy the refinery. We have to take it down."

"HEY! SCRAP HEAP!" Nora shouted.

The Scorpia stopped suddenly and looked straight at Nora, the battle loving ginger not backing down.

"YOU WANNA GET PAST US? THEN BRING IT ON!"

The Scorpia stood still for a few moments, like it was trying to contemplate the threat it had just received. The ball of Grimm essence disappeared inside the Scorpia's tail, safe from any attacks or thievery. Then there was the sound of metallic clicking as the Scorpia loaded it's cannon and set itself to combat mode.

The fight was on!

(Insert music: Megaman Zero 2 Remastered – Strong Will)

Straight away the Scorpia opened fire at the team, its cannon launching small, red orbs of energy at them.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune commanded.

"Got it." Pyrrha and Jaune ran to each others side and placed their shields squarely in front of themselves. Nora and Ren ducking in behind them as the shots clanged against their barrier.

The Scorpia stopped to reload for another volley. Seeing the opening, Ren opened fire with his machine pistols. Nora quickly joined him and launched a volley of four grenades, the heart decorated explosives making impact with clouds of pink smoke.

"Get rekt." Nora smirked.

As the dust settled however, the team saw that the Scorpia had moved its claw over to protect itself. Pulling the claw back revealed that no damage had been sustained.

The Scorpia now took its turn. The reloaded cannon now started to glow red at the end of the barrel. After charging for a few more seconds, it fired a much large ball of energy.

"Aw man, incoming!" Jaune warned his team.

"Nora, back to cover." Ren called to his partner as they leapt back behind their teammates.

The shot hit Jaune and Pyrrhas shield's, with far worse results than last time.

As the shot exploded, team JNPR were thrown in all directions. Jaune screamed slightly as he tumbled in the air, before deciding to land face first in the soft desert sand. Pyrrha landed back safely on both feet, as did Ren.

"Jaune, are you alright?"

Jaune raised one arm to give a thumbs up, much to Pyrrhas relief.

"Where did Nora go?" Ren asked, looking around with a puzzled expression.

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-OOF!"

As if on cue, Nora came back down to earth, landing bottom first right beside Ren. Quickly getting up, she patted the sand off her skirt.

"Man, sand is nowhere near as comfy as I thought it was."

"That shot, it went straight through Jaune's semblance and our shields combined. What kind of robot has that level of power?"

Suddenly, Pyrrha's eyes widened as she heard a crash behind her. Turning slowly, she saw the Scorpia standing there waiting for them.

"Oh hi there!" Nora waved. "I heard you like grenades!" A soon as the words left her lips, Nora fired a shot. The attack was so sudden that the Scorpia had no time to react. The grenade whizzed past Pyrrha and exploded on the Scorpia's face.

While it was still dazed by the explosion, Pyrrha brought out her weapon in sword form and began slashing at the Scorpia's face with fast combos. In defence, the Scorpia brought its claw down on Pyrrha, only for the Spartan girl to side step it with ease.

"Pyrrha! Going up!" Ren shouted as he sprinted towards her.

With a small nod of approval, Pyrrha placed her shield above her and got on one knee. As Ren leapt onto the shield, she focused her semblance into it, before thrusting the shield upwards with all her might. Ren was launched skywards. Changing his Stormflowers to melee mode as he reached the highest point, he aimed himself to land on the Scorpia's back.

Back on the ground, Pyrrha was still attacking the Scorpia's face, more to it's annoyance than anything else.

Back-pedalling from another strike, Pyrrha looked up to see Ren approaching fast. He pulled his Stormflower blades over his head and behind him, ready to use their dagger like tips to pierce through to the heart of the Scorpia.

With expert timing, he swung the blades down, just as he landed on the Scorpia's back. He was in for a shock though, as his blades made impact, they dealt no damage.

"What the-"

As Ren looked in bewilderment, the Scorpia gave a mighty swing with its tail, knocking Ren off to the side.

"Ren!" Nora yelled, running to the boys side as Jaune groggily got back up from the earlier attack.

Jaune looked around, this was really not going well. Pyrrha, though skilled, would not be able to hold back this monster forever. Not to mention they were a man down and their attacks seemed to do nothing. He looked around, there had to be something they could try.

That is when Jaune's eyes fell upon the Death Stalker corpse. He looked at the wound that had felled it. Suddenly, there was the spark of an idea. He looked over to the fight, Pyrrha was using her semblance to aid her dodges. Watching a bit longer, he saw the Scorpia using its tail to try and stab at Pyrrha, though it failed time and time again.

Jaune made for his team, he had the plan, now they had to put it into action. Running past Pyrrha, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the battle.

"Nora! We need a distraction!" he called.

"You got it!" Nora replied, launching another volley of grenades at the Scorpia. In retaliation, it pounced towards her, only for Nora to change her weapon to it's hammer form and land a strike in the middle of the robots head.

"Jaune, what are you doing?" Pyrrha asked, concerned that Nora was fighting on alone.

"I have a plan, but it won't be easy."

Nora looked back to see Jaune telling Pyrrha his plan, though she could not hear him. "Anytime now would be nice!"

"Nora, we need to get Jaune onto that things back, think you can do it?"

Nora smirked at Jaune. "I have my ways."

Nora then grabbed Jaune and threw him upwards.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Pyrrha gasped slightly, placing one hand over her mouth. Nora did have her ways, but they were usually... unorthodox at best.

Nora then pulled her hammer back and as Jaune fell towards her, she swung. The Hammer hit the shield on Jaune's back, ensuring he took no damage but was instead launched towards the Scorpia.

He landed with a thud on the Scorpia's back. "Next time, Pyrrha can find a way to get me up!" he shouted back jokingly.

"Quit whining! It worked, didn't it?"

Jaune then got up and tried to find his balance, not an easy thing to do when your on the back of a flailing giant robot. Gingerly, he made his way towards the robot's head, it obviously had not noticed him yet, or took his presence as no threat.

He kneeled down and lowered his upper body over the edge, making sure he was visible to the Scopia. It seemed mildly surprised to find the boy looking at him.

Jaune gave a nervous laugh and wave. "Uh, heh heh. Hi there!"

The Scorpia just watched him constantly.

"Nothing personal about this, but-"

Jaune drew his sword and stabbed at the robot's upper left eye with all his might. The glass covering shattered and the the Scorpia stumbled in surprise. Exactly as planned, now Jaune made his way onto the centre of the Scorpia's back and readied his shield.

Now fully aware of Jaune's presence, the Scorpia attempted to stab him with it's tail. Jaune quickly raising his shield and focusing his semblance on it to negate the strike. Angered slightly, the robot tried again. The result was the same, though Jaune was starting to get visibly tired from blocking such a powerful strike.

"This is his plan?" Nora asked.

"Wait... wait..." Pyrrha told herself, trusting in Jaune's plan despite it's risks.

Nora looked back to Jaune, the boy starting to struggle as the tail was raised for another attack. It was then she noticed that Jaune's shield was glowing black slightly. She turned to Pyrrha, who was dead focused on Jaune and her hand was glowing black too.

The Scorpia launched it's tail at Jaune one final time, with full force, intent on ending the Beacon students life! Jaune braced himself for what was about to happen, whatever way this went, it was going to be an experience.

"Now!" Pyrrha told herself, as she suddenly flung her glowing hand to the right. As she did so, Jaune's shield flew in the same direction, with Jaune still attached to it! He was flung with great speed, though he got a soft landing as Pyrrha slowed him down before he landed on the desert ground.

The Scorpia though, had no time to stop its own attack. With a cry of pain, the ceratanium spike pierced the Scorpia's back armour, wedged in between the folds of jagged metal. The Scorpia stumbled around, trying to get the spike free from itself.

"Nora! Finish it!" Jaune gave the final order, much to Nora's delight.

"Nail in!" Nora said as she got a running start.

Using an explosive blast from her grenade launcher, she propelled herself upwards, switching back to hammer form as she rocketed skywards. As she reached the apex of her jump, she fired a blast from her hammer to reach maximum speed almost instantly as she started to fall towards the wounded foe.

She raised her hammer above her head.

"HAMMER DOWN!"

Swinging the hammer back down, she hit the end of the tail, forcing the spike to go right the way through the Scorpia. The robot falling flat onto it's belly, struggling to move. Nora took one last shot with her grenade launcher, this one set to a timed delay, and fired it into the sizeable hole in the opponents back before leaping off beside her team.

Jaune had gotten Ren, though he was still unconscious after the impact. Ren wasn't known for taking hits, more for dodging them.

The Scorpia, struggled to get to it's feet. The robot body quivering as it tried to find the strength to pull itself up. A final explosion form the grenade however, was the last straw. The robot froze for a few seconds, before falling into a heap in the desert sand, tail limp. The red eyes flickered in a futile attempt to cling on to life, before JNPR heard the welcome sound of machinery powering down and it's eyes glowing no more.

The team breathed a sigh of relief as they finally had the chance to be at ease.

"Nice plan, Jauney boy!" Nora said, slapping him on the back. "How is Ren doing?" her voice changing slightly to one of concern. "He'll be alright, let's head back to the refinery, we can call in the Bullhead from there.

The group started to make their way across the desert sand.

"What do you suppose that monstrosity was? I have never seen anything like it before." Pyrrha asked.

"I'm not sure." Jaune answered expectedly. "Maybe Ozpin will be able to tell us about it, and that Grimm essence."

Nora held her arms behind her head. "Let's just relax for now, we worked our socks off today! We deserve a rest."

(Insert music: Megaman Zero 3 – Darkness Over World)

Back at the Scorpia's defeated robotic body. The figure who had wrought such a terrible foe upon the Huntsmen and Huntresses of team JNPR, stood beside his fallen servant. He placed a hand against it's robotic eye, before tutting to himself.

"Such a shame. I had so many more plans for you. So many more battles and destructive conquests. No matter though, you have given me what I require."

The figures hand started to glow with a purple energy as he slowly raised his hand up. From within the empty shell, the black orb of energy emerged, floating in the palm of his hand, pulsing with power. He stared at it for a few moments, an evil smirk on his face.

"Such dull creatures. Beings so basic and simple, yet they contain such power. The power that will enable us to control all life, and do with it as we see fit!"

He turned to the refinery, still able to see Team JNPR, like tiny specks on the horizon. He watched them as they walked away from the battlefield to safety.

"It seems we have greatly underestimated you humans. X clearly knew what he was doing all those years ago. But rest assured, your demise will come soon enough, be it at my hand, or my allies!"

 **So ends the battle in the desert! But what did X do all those millennia ago? And who even is this man?**

 **Don't forget to review!**

 **Until next time!**


	11. The White Fang Strikes!

_**Ladies and gentlemen! We have hit double figures for the chapter count!**_

 _ ***Applause***_

 _ **While I am the one keeping this story up and running, I owe so much to all of you readers and followers! Without you guys motivating me, I would have given up on this story ages ago!**_

 _ **So from the bottom of my heart, thank you all!**_

 _ **Enough sentimental stuff though! Onwards!**_

"And that, boys and girls, is why you should never fight a Nevermore after drinking a mug of Professor Oobleck's coffee."

It was Professor Port's class, about half way through the lesson. That story though, was enough for Team RWBY and X already!

Most of them were standing there, jaws dropped at the story they just heard. Most of their faces had turned pale white as well.

Weiss had decided to go one further and had promptly collapsed, the heiress lying rigid on the floor, shivering slightly with panicked eyes.

"I REALLY did not need to hear any of that." Yang said, shaking her head as she came back to reality.

She looked to her little sister, still frozen with... disgust? Fear? Something like that anyway. Yang waved a hand in front of Ruby's face, trying to get some sort of reaction. No such luck however, and it was the same story with Blake. Her cat like instincts kicking in, making her dig her nails into the desk.

"How you holding up X?"

…

"X?"

X was staring blankly at the professor, his pupils shrunk. Without looking away, he pressed a few buttons on his wrist.

 **MEMORY FROM PAST 30 MINUTES HAS BEEN DELETED.**

His pupils returning to normal, X looked around the room in confusion.

"Huh, how did we get here? You okay Ruby? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

Yang grumbled to herself. "Lucky duck."

"Umm... is Weiss alright down there?"

The tannoy pinging got the attention of the class.

 _TEAM RWBY AND X TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE. TEAM RWBY AND X TO HEADMASTER'S OFFICE PLEASE._

Ruby and Blake turned to Yang.

"What? Just because we get called to see Ozpin, you think I did something? I am shocked and appalled!"

Yang turned away, her arms crossed in a mock huff. A few moments later however, a large amount of dust crystals fell out of her bag, along with some thumb tacks, feathers and super glue.

Yang opened one eye and saw this, looking at her friends sheepishly.

"I never said I wasn't _going_ to do something. Just that I hadn't dome anything yet."

"In any case, we better get going." Ruby said. "Someone get Weiss and lets go!"

Yang then proceeded to go over to Weiss, still lying on the floor, and carry her over her shoulder in a fireman's lift.

Blake tapped Yang on the shoulder. "That's not what Ruby meant by..."

"It works doesn't it?"

Still feeling too ill from the last lesson to argue with her, Ruby led her team along the corridors towards the elevator to Ozpin's office.

"So, if Yang didn't do anything, why do you think Ozpin is looking for us?" X asked.

"Much as I hate to say it, when we get called to him for something, its not usually good news." Ruby admitted.

"It could just be a mission, Rubes." Yang tried to cheer up her sister.

"Or maybe they found something out about your past, X." Blake hypothesised.

"Well, we'll find out soon enough. Hop in girls!" Ruby pointed heroically to the golden lift. "Oh and X too!"

As the lift ascended up through the glass shaft, the girls and X could get a clear view of the city. The normal beauty however, was ignored as they all saw something in the distance they didn't like the look of.

"What is that?" Yang asked.

"Smoke, something big is going down, but where?"

"If you put me down, I might be able to tell you!" An irate Weiss said.

"Ah, snowflake is awake!" Yang chirped, putting the heiress down.

Weiss, let herself be placed back down and grumpily dusted off her dress, several strands of Yang's hair covering it. She was just about to scold Yang when she looked out of the shaft, her mouth agape in shock. She pressed her hands against the window, staring in disbelief.

"There is only one business in that area: Schnee Robotics."

"Someone is attacking the robot factory? Who would do that?" X asked.

"If I had to guess, I'd say the White Fang. Any terrorist group would want their hands on some of Schnee's cutting edge tech!" Yang answered.

Blake however, had something to say. "I know about the White Fang. They may be well known but I'm pretty sure they don't have the resources to assault a place like Schnee Robotics."

They were so busy looking out at the smokey battlefield, that the Team did not notice the elevator door had already opened.

"I see you have already figured out why I called you to see me."

Turning around, the team could see Professor Ozpin, sat behind his desk with a very battle weary looking Team JNPR in front of him, minus Ren.

"Pyrrha, Jaune, Nora! When did you guys get back?" Ruby joyfully ran up and hugged Nora, who was all to happy to return the gesture.

"And what happened to you? You look like you've just fought off an army!" Blake asked as she saw the state of her fellow team.

Ozpin answered the query. "Team JNPR has just been debriefing me on their last mission. They had to take an unexpected detour to protect Vacuo from an attack. But not from any foe we have seen before."

Pyrrha took over. "We encountered some of the ancient machines known as Reaverbots."

Yang was puzzled. "Well, that's nothing new. Those junk piles have been wandering around for ages. Ever since the first ruins were discovered."

"This time was different." Jaune added. "They were co-ordinated, aiming for a target. Something no one who has fought the Reaverbots claims to have seen before."

"They also had a leader. A robot unlike any we have seen in all our battles, massively powerful." Pyrrha finished.

"How powerful are we talking here?" Blake asked with interest.

"You remember our battle, at initiation, with the Death Stalker?"

The girls nodded.

"Well, this monstrosity was able to fell it with a single blow."

Understandably, Team RWBY was somewhat taken aback by the statement. Had it come from any other team, they would have thought they were lying or exaggerating. To hear such a claim from their closest friends was a shock to say the least.

"There is one other matter to discuss." Ozpin said.

"That robot." Jaune continued. "It was looking for something. When it killed that Grimm, it took something from it."

"Its essence." Pyrrha said.

"That is why I called you here too, X. You will of course be helping to defend the robot factory, but I wanted to ask you this first. Tell me, do you remember anything like that robot that JNPR faced? It's ability to extract Grimm essence?"

X shook his head sadly. "I wish there was sir. But even looking through all of my memory files, I cannot find anything about that."

Ozpin sighed slightly. "I understand. We shall look into this in detail later. For now, please head to the factory and repel the attackers."

"Roger." X replied.

"As for you JNPR. I would recommend a visit to the medical bay. Ren is already down there, though he will be fine soon enough."

"Of course sir." Pyrrha politely acknowledged. "Good luck girls, and you too X."

"Give 'em hell!" Nora said, punching X's shoulder.

"Alright team!" Ruby ordered. "Let's move out!"

 **Schnee Robotics – Main Entrance**

Leaning against a now ruined wall close to the entrance of Schnee Robotics, a young staff member tried to catch her breath. As she tried to regain her composure, she took a look around.

The entire area was devastated. Small fires blazed out all over the grounds, mesh fencing was torn to shreds and pieces of the main building and nearby structures fell down at random intervals. Along with the fires crackling, she could hear distant explosions as well as a mix of security alarms and emergency vehicle sirens.

Through all of this however, she was able to focus her vision on a strange sight.

The ground around her seemed to shimmer slightly, little blue orbs rising from the ground like bubbles in a fizzy drink. They then converged into five separate glowing lights, seemingly beamed down from the sky itself.

With a bright flash, the lights were replaced by five figures. Though the people were unknown to the staff member, X and Team RWBY had arrived on the scene.

The girl stood up gingerly. "Hunters! Thank Oum you're here!"

As she tried to stand, she toppled forward, obviously still in shock. Yang quickly caught her and motioned for medics to come forward.

"What happened her ma'am?" Blake asked.

"I was just working at the main desk, when there was a massive explosion. Fearing for my safety, I hid under my work station. I only just plucked up the courage to come out now."

"Did you see who these attackers were?"

"Yes, I recognised the symbol. It was those brutes from the White Fang."

Blake's face dropped a little. Yang was right with her hunch, but how Blake wished she hadn't been.

"If you want to try and stop them, they were heading straight for the assembly line. There is a lot of dangerous equipment in there, please be careful."

"Thank you ma'am, just relax now, we'll take it from here." Yang reassured her as the medics took over.

The group wasted no time and headed with all haste to chase down the perpetrators.

Entering the assembly line, the group could see what a massive task this would be. This was no small factory, rather, there was enough robot tech here to build an army! And they had to find the ringleader in this mess!

"We should split up." Blake suggested.

"Well, if I remember anything from what my sister told me, it's that the factory only has two main points of interest to thieves. Namely the blueprint data bank, and the construction command centre." Weiss added.

Ruby slammed a closed fist against her palm. "It's settled then. I'll take Blake and Yang and clear out the data bank. X, you and Weiss shut down the command centre."

Weiss, however, seemed to be very much against the idea. "Wait, why do I get stuck with the bucket of bolts?"

"Because I am your leader and I say so." Ruby answered, putting on a mock authoritative voice.

Weiss was practically beside herself with rage, though she tried her best to hide it.

"It's a bad thing Weiss. I'm sure you'll see things differently after this is all over."

"Yeah!" Yang backed up her sister. "Nothing bonds people together like a life or death mission! I speak from experience!"

Begrudgingly, Weiss agreed to her leader's request. "Fine, but you follow my lead, okay?"

X had to lean back when Weiss shoved a pointing finger in his face as she said that.

"Um... sure, I guess?"

Without saying another word, Weiss walked off towards the control centre, not even bothering to wait for X.

"We'll be fine." X assured Team RBY. "Good luck!"

With that, the two squads split up, ready for whatever threat they might face, they hoped.

 **With RBY – Database Storage area**

Ruby, Yang and Blake burst through a security door, weapons primed. A decision they quickly realised was not the best one.

The hallway between them and the data bank was completely blocked by White fang members, all dressed in their traditional white and black garb along with their grey face masks covering the top half of their faces. They wielded a mix of small firearms and simple melee weapons.

After a few awkward moments of staring at each other, a member walked forward. He was much more of a brute than the rest, wearing a special white mask that covered his whole face. His voice was almost like a growl and very aggressive sounding.

"Finally, someone worthy of fighting the White Fang. It was no fun eliminating those pathetic security guards."

RBY braced themselves, Ruby loading a shot into Crescent Rose by sliding the reload mechanism back.

"Kill them!"

As soon as the leader gave the command, two members with pistols aimed at RBY.

Using her semblance, Ruby dashed straight towards them, a trail of petals falling behind her as she did so. In the blink of an eye, she appeared in front of them and high kicked one of the guns out of the members hand. Instinctively, the other fired a shot, only for Ruby to lean back and dodge it before following up with a swipe from her scythe, disarming the opponent.

Another squad with a mix of firearms tried to reinforce their comrades, only to be attacked by Blake. Diving in with her katanas, she slashed at the first tow with a blade each, both falling down injured. Another member tried to rush her but Blake used the wire attached to her weapon to immobilize the attacker. With surprising strength, she swung him around, using him like a mace to knock his allies aside.

Having taken care of their respective fights, it was now Yang's turn. As fortune would have it, she had been left those who were fighting in close combat, just the style of combat she liked.

If one could see the look of terror in her opponent's eyes as the blonde punched a fist into her palm, a toothy smirk on her face, you would almost feel sorry for them.

Yang began her assault on the enemy. A mix of quick hooks to the jaws of some, along with low punches to the gut and an uppercut to one poor sap that sent him flying into the air.

"Fine." They heard the larger one say, turning to him. "If you want something done right. Do it yourself!"

Following this, he drew a blade, roughly the same size as himself. It had large numbers of jagged teeth on the edge of the blade sides. He then squeezed a small trigger under the handle. A sudden roar of an engine filled he room, as the teeth began to rotate around the blade rapidly.

"A chainsaw sword?" Ruby said before her eyes glittered. "That is so cool!"

The brute White Fang member gave a small chuckle. "Perhaps you would like a closer look?"

As soon as the words left his lips, he rushed at Ruby, revving the chainsaw as he swung for her. He was too slow however, as Ruby blinked out of the way with a small squeal.

"We are already in the process of downloading the entire Schnee robot database." He gestured with a wide sweep of his arm over the large databank behind him, "Soon the White Fang will have an army far more capable then anything the kingdoms can muster! Killing you here is just an added bonus!"

Enraged, Yang made a bid for the White Fang member, arm backed up to punch him into next week! In response he thrust his chainsaw forward, smoke pouring out as he revved it up.

Yang was about to make contact with the blade when Blake pulled her back using the wires on her weapon.

"Yang, don't be foolish! If you take a hit from that, the chain strikes will tear through your aura!"

Yang wanted to argue but Blake was right.

"What do you suppose we do then?" she asked.

"We fight smart. Use numbers to our advantage."

The trio readied themselves for a new tactic as the chainsaw wielder walked slowly towards them.

"Man, I hope Weiss and X are doing better than we are." Ruby said, mostly to herself.

 **Command Centre**

Silence.

Darkness.

That was all that came to the minds of X and Weiss as they trekked down the hallway to the main control room.

The main power was clearly not working. No machinery whirred or buzzed around them. There was only some faint emergency lighting to guide there way. Though X had a light on his buster cannon to help them see, it wasn't much, but it would have to suffice.

If there was any fear between the two however, they were doing a good job of hiding it. Weiss especially seemed to care little for this development, she seemed more focused on being stuck with X. Walking on ahead with a much quicker pace than X, quickening every time he came close to her.

"Weiss!" X called after her as he stumbled over some debris. "Think you could slow down a bit?"

She walked on, ignoring X's request. X gave her the benefit of the doubt though, as was his nature. He assumed she hadn't heard him, or was focusing on their mission. The second was not entirely untrue.

Weiss was deep in thought about all of this. The whole area had been shut down but, aside from a few small pieces of debris, the route to the command centre was largely intact.

Either the security had not put up much of a fight... or the enemy was powerful enough to simply barrel through them with no problems.

She hoped it was the former.

X finally caught up to Weiss, just as they reached the entrance to the main control room. Weiss looked up to the windows of the room as X walked past her.

With a small gasp, she pulled X by the arm back around a corner, much to X's surprise. He pulled himself out of Weiss' grip and turned to address her.

"What was that all about?"

"Take a look for yourself." she whispered.

X poked his head around the corner slightly, just enough to be able to see through the windows above him. He saw a woman there, typing into the console. A woman that he didn't yet know, but one that Weiss knew all too well.

She had long black hair the covered one of her eyes, eyes that glowed a fiery orange! He could also see her wearing a red, short cut dress with golden highlights that extended to her wrists. The pattern then continued onto her hands via some kind of tattoo. As she walked about, he could hear her high heels clicking on the ground. Most striking however, was the smile on her face, a look of pure evil that sent shivers down X's spine.

"Who is she? You know her?" X asked, still having his head poked out.

"Unfortunately yes. Her name is Cinder, and she leads the White Fang." Weiss answered, some disgust in her voice as she mentioned the woman's name.

"Wonder what she's doing." X asked himself as he turned back around for another look. Only for his eyes to widen in shock.

Cinder had obviously heard them as she stared right back at X, the malicious joy from her grin changing to a stern expression. She raised her hand and a small ball of fire appeared spontaneously in it. X backed away slightly before turning to Weiss and grabbing her.

"Move!" he shouted.

As he did so, Cinder threw the fireball, smashing the glass in the process. As it impacted the area where our heroes were, X and Weiss leapt to the side just as the projectile exploded with a flash of light.

The two landed with a small grunt, as X checked to see if Weiss was alright.

"Get off me!"

She was. The two got up and drew their weapons as Cinder addressed them, her voice smooth and intoxicating, yet still carrying that air of menace.

"Ozpin finally sent his beloved students after me again. That is such a relief. I was afraid that he would get all protective after the breach, then who would give me a challenge?"

X and Weiss both grit there teeth. Was she mocking them? Or trying to scare them out of fighting? It was then that she looked at X again.

"My my. It seems Ozpin is bringing in the big guns! He actually let X out to play as well!"

"How... how do you know about X?"

"Oh Miss Schnee, I have my ways. You honestly think that I, the leader of the White Fang, wouldn't know of the most powerful being on Remnant right now?"

"I hope you aren't looking for a new recruit, because I'm not interested in terrorists!" X defiantly said.

Cinder merely laughed. "I have plenty of recruits, in fact, one of them is the whole reason I know about you! I still would like to have you in the White Fang though. The only choice you have is whether you come with me in one piece..."

Cinder hit a key on the panel and the area was suddenly filled with flashing red lights and blaring alarms.

Suddenly, there came the sound of hissing hydraulics, and two heavy doors on the floor opened to make way for an elevator.

And upon it, was a Cyclops Ride Armour. A bipedal machine, shining blue with a large shoulder mounted cannon and two arms with sharpened, three pronged grips on the ends. The cockpit had been covered with a protective material and could not bee seen through, though the driver seemed all to happy to hear the command from Cinder as she leapt onto it's shoulder,

"Destroy them, now!"

 _ **So we are all set for some big fights, and a reveal that I have been waiting to sharre with you all!**_

 _ **Let's see if we can hit triple figures on the review.**_

 _ **Until next time!**_


	12. A Rivalry Reborn

_**We got some good responses from the last chapter! You're all really eager to find out who Cinder is working with, huh?**_

 _ **Well, read on then!**_

 _ **A couple of reviews first though:**_

 _ **Gravenimage: Ah, the million dollar question. I have a plan for him, that is all I'll say for now.**_

 _ **Coppa-Cola: Apologies for the confusion, I did mention the time frame being after Season 2, but it is not following the cannon from there on. All the events from Season 1 and 2 have happened, including the breach and Roman's arrest. The world of RWBY is a bit more advanced this time, thanks to their discovery of the Ancient cities (chapter 1).**_

 _ **And just as a heads up for all, this story will obviously not be finished by the time Season 4 of RWBY comes out. Now, the plan for this story is done and only includes events up to the end of Season 3. A few changes may be made after Season 4 reveals new info, but nothing major.**_

 _ **Let's get cracking on then!**_

(Insert music: Diablon – Shadow the Hedgehog)

 _ALL WEAPONS SYSTEMS: FULLY FUNCTIONAL._

"They're all yours."

As soon as Cinder gave the command, the Cyclops ride armour leaned forward. Standing still momentarily, a whirr of a jet engine could be heard, before jets of flame blasted from the exhausts on its back and the ride armour charged into battle.

Stopping the jets mere moments before overshooting, the ride armour gave a violent punch, aimed at our two heroes. Weiss slid under the arm and went behind the armour, while X side stepped, inviting a smash from the other arm. The impact rocked the floor around them, knocking X off his feet, but not doing damage.

Weiss meanwhile, Weiss was ready to launch an attack at the back of the armour. Only for the arm that had pulled the punch to snap back. The hydraulic rams used to extend the appendage retracting at the same speed they game out. The result was Weiss getting hit by the end of the steel arm full force, flying backwards.

"Weiss!" He called out to his partner.

"Gugh! I'm... I'm fine." she replied, wincing slightly as she recovered from the strike.

The ride armour stomped closer, bring X's attention back to it. He aimed his buster and fired a charged shot.

It harmlessly pinged off the armour, to X's dismay, while Cinder laughed heartily.

"That little pea shooter will do nothing against this. It was specifically designed to counter your energy weapons."

X grit his teeth at this news. His weapons wouldn't work? Perfect. Just what he needed to hear. Then it hit him, his angry look disappearing instantly before he looked back to Cinder.

"Maybe my buster won't work against it..."

He raised his buster and pointed it at the armour.

"... but it should work on you!"

In a split second, X changed his aim and fired a shot at Cinder. Although she activated her aura, which was considerably powerful, the sheer suddenness of the attack made it hit with enough force to throw her off the armours shoulder, landing on the floor with a grunt.

The armour turned to see what was happening since it's vision was restricted.

A sudden blur of white flew past it. A clang of metal against it's leg and the machine stumbled onto one knee, catching itself and rebooting the system to enable it to stand again.

The blur stopped and Weiss turned to see her handiwork, just as Cinder and the armour were getting back up.

"That will only slow them down." X said. "We have to get back to the others."

"Much as I hate to retreat from such scum, I agree."

Lowering their weapons, the two turned around and headed back the way they came. The ride armour stood once more and fired a shot from it's cannon at them. It was very inaccurate though, and hit the wall just to the side of the heroes.

Cinder pulled herself up onto the behemoth once more.

"Get after them."

With a quick whirr of systems changing, the ride armour stomped off down the corridor where Weiss and X had run to.

(Insert music: Mighty No 9 OST – Ray Boss Theme)

The Lieutenant's chainsaw hit the floor with a force that would make anything tremble. A few sparks flying up from it as the teeth briefly scarred the ground. He picked it up again, moving to a defensive stature as he waited for RBY to make a move.

The battle was a near stalemate. Although the White Fang member was outnumbered, and much slower than RBY, the girls knew that one good hit from the chainsaw blade would tear through their aura and probably the rest of their bodies too! As such, they were trying to pick their attacks carefully.

Ruby rushed at the White Fang lackey, a wide sweeping swing from her scythe to ensure she was not hit with the chainsaw blade. She had just enough force behind the blow to knock the enemy weapon wide.

Just the opening they needed.

Blake now launched forward, scoring a few slashes and jabs at the opponent. Her katanas were a mere blur as she repeatedly pummelled her foe before both girls dodged back as he recovered.

The armour had served its purpose. A few scratches and maybe one or two deeper cuts were noticeable on the plating, but that was it.

Shrugging off the strikes, the lieutenant came at the trio again. An overhead strike that put all of his rather sizeable amounts of strength to use. He aimed squarely at Blake, wanting to repay the Faunus in kind for the moves she had performed on him.

Blake hopped back, but not before leaving a copy of herself behind, made of ice dust. Her timing was perfect, the copy materialising just as the blade passed through it. The lieutenant's arms juddered as his weapon was suddenly stuck fast in the icy decoy.

Yang seized the initiative, practically rugby tackling the man and charging him off balance. He fell to the ground, Yang still atop him to stop him getting back up.

Yang then began striking the man repeatedly in the face, alternating between left and right hand punches. The mask was serving its master well but Yang was determined to get through and cause at least some pain to the enemy underneath.

As the blonde launched her right arm forward for another hit, the lieutenant raised his hand and caught the punch midway, much to Yang's surprise.

Her face changed then to one of pain, her teeth gritted as he tightened his grip and pushed Yang back off him. Standing up, Yang tried to make him relinquish his crushing hold on her by striking him in the gut.

Although his upper body moved back slightly with each hit, he made no sounds of pain or even discomfort as he looked at Yang squarely in the eyes.

"My turn." he growled.

Clenching his fist, he swung. Yang may as well have just been hit by a bulldozer, that was certainly what it felt like as Yang was thrown across the room by the force of the hit. She fell on to one knee, winded, but still conscious. Her breathing was fast and shallow as she recovered.

The lieutenant walked slowly over to his embedded weapon. Placing two hands upon the handle, he silently strained as he pulled on his weapon. This ice crackling as it was taken from it's cold holster, before the copy shattered into tiny shards and the blades engine revved once more.

Straight away, he swung at Blake, eager for some payback. She blocked the strike with both katanas before ducking underneath his follow up blow. Realising he would miss, the lieutenant salvaged the strike into an attack against Ruby, which the young huntress was unprepared for.

In the nick of time, she fired a shot into the ground and flung herself back. Though this kept her safe, the lieutenant could now focus on Blake alone, a chance he would not squander.

He lunged at the faunus, trying to stab straight through her gut! Blake sidestepped and tried to slam down on the chainsaw with her own blades. As they made contact however, the lieutenant revved the engine and spun up the chainsaw teeth to maximum speed. Blake's katanas rattled and shook against the chainsaw teeth, sparks flying from them. With one final rev, her weapons were flung from her grasp, clattering on the floor nearby.

The girl watched the blades fly away before looking back to the lieutenant, and receiving a punch to the face as she did so. She fell to her hands and knees, dazed.

With a quiet chuckle, the White Fang superior went for her. This time he went for an overhead swing, much faster then before. The blade spun wildly as it was about to carve through the cat girl. Until-

 ***BANG** *

A shot hit the blade at the precise moment when it was about to land, knocking the lieutenant onto his back, though he flipped straight up again. He looked to see his attackers, finding Ruby and Yang with their weapons in ranged mode at the other end of the room.

"Firing Squad!" Ruby called to her sister, a light smile on her face. "Let him have it!"

The two siblings released their full payload. Yang punching her fire blasts out like her life depended on it (not strictly untrue) and Ruby using the sniper mode for more precise hits.

The lieutenant could hear nothing but bullets and flames whizzing past him. He raised his weapon to black them, but the sheer volume of shots was overwhelming. A few hit the chainsaw blade, along with dings and clangs as they hit his mask and armour. The majority however, did hit their target, causing his aura to drain rapidly.

Ruby lined up one more shot, not at the man, but at the handle of his weapon. She squeezed the trigger, and waited for the fireworks.

Initially, one would have though she missed. The bullet merely pinging off the casing of the handle. A split second later however, the shot ruptured the petrol tank on the chainsaw.

A flash of light, followed by the weapon exploding in spectacular fashion, throwing the lieutenant to the side with bad burns on his hand which he now clung to in agony. Shards of hot metal from the former weapon were scattered across the floor, as what remained of the engine burned in a small pile.

(Insert music: Megaman X8 – Pitch Black (Sneaking)

The chase of X and Weiss meanwhile, had led Cinder and her partner to a large storage warehouse. It was piled high with a variety of equipment, mostly boxed up or under tarpaulins. It was completely dark too, the light switches being hidden away somewhere, likely in a security office.

Cinder, still on the shoulder of the giant weapon, tapped her heal on it's shoulder a few times. In response, the mech turned on two powerful headlights on it's chest. It's top half rotated slowly left and right, looking for it's prey.

Seeing they were not in immediate sight, the mech marched slowly onward, still looking either side.

Cinder too, had joined in the search in her own unique way. Using her semblance, she began igniting certain objects. Not enough to start a massive fire, but enough to give them light and scare out anyone who may be hiding.

Then the ride armour turned sharply to the left. Even Cinder seemed a little surprised by this, the driver obviously doing this of his own accord.

"What is it? Did you see something?" she asked, as they stared at the stack of shipping containers.

After a few seconds, the armour fired out a red beam from it's chest. Expanding outwards in a line, it moved up and down the containers, scanning them.

Cinder sighed with disappointment. "It's nothing. Let's just move on."

Reluctantly at first, the driver turned the armour back to it's original course and stomped off to explore further inside the facility.

Behind the containers that they had just passed, X and Weiss were finally able to breathe again.

"I don't think they saw us." X said optimistically as the stomping became fainter. "You know where the exit is?"

Weiss nodded.

"Right, lead on, but stay hidden. We don't know where they went too."

The duo started to make their way towards the exit, and to their friends. It was a surprisingly simple trip for the most part. A few nervous double takes in case the enemy was waiting for them, but they seemed to have moved to the other side of the warehouse.

As they made their way, darting in and out of cover, both of our heroes were in deep thought.

Weiss was thinking of all she had heard and seen about Cinder. While this was the first time the two had ever met face to face, she had heard plenty of stories about the villain. Ozpin had given them all the info he could after the breach. Since from that point on, it was clear that the White Fang were accelerating their plans.

Little was known about Cinder's past. Only that she was incredibly gifted and had been brought up hearing the stories of the legendary maidens. Power she hoped to attain if it existed. If not, she would at least try to equal it.

They Huntsmen had had some victories over her. Capturing her partner Roman for one thing. Not to mention foiling the breach, but they still had a lot to discover. Like that mysterious young woman who had defeated Yang. The one called Neo.

Cinder had some powerful allies. And that was exactly what X was thinking about too.

Whoever was driving that ride armour,they had been working with Cinder to build it. They had made it resistant to his energy weapons, but who else on Remnant knew how they worked? Save for X and the Schnee corporation. But the mech was ready before they could have gathered intel on him from the database, so how did this mysterious person know about X?

They were brought back to their senses by a sudden clanging sound. Like something clamping onto metal. The two froze behind a container and drew their weapons.

"What was that?" X asked.

"Forget about it, the exit is close." Weiss replied.

It was then that the container was hoisted away from them! Turning to see what had happened, they found Cinder standing before them, the ride armour holding the container above their heads.

"Going somewhere?" Cinder smirked.

Weiss and X broke into a sprint, X using his dash to full effect as they made a bid for the exit. If they could just get through, they knew the mech couldn't follow them through such a small corridor.

Unfortunately, the driver of the mech seemed to have spotted this. Charging the shoulder cannon with a brilliant blue glow, he fired a bolt of energy at the doorway. The shot sailed over X and Weiss before exploding. The two shielded their gaze from the blast. Looking back, they saw that their way out had collapsed on itself. A large pile of rubble covering it, the dust still falling from the ceiling above it.

The two looked back to the armour. Cinder was still sat on the shoulder of it, a flame in one hand and her other waving a finger in disapproval.

"What's the rush?" She asked sarcastically. "Your friends will be dealt with soon enough, for now, let's enjoy our time together. Shall we?"

(Insert music: Megaman X6 – Intro boss theme – D-1000)

"Dammit, we can't stick around trying to fight this thing! We'll never beat it on our own!" X said through gritted teeth as he readied his buster.

"The database room is just a little further beyond here. The corridor was the only way out though. Unless you know how to get through a reinforced concrete and titanium wall." Weiss replied, readying her rapier.

It was then that her eyes fell upon something, giving her an idea.

"I have a plan." she said to X. "Keep them busy!"

With that, she used her semblance to flash past the armour. It turned around to give chase, only to have several buster shots ricochet off it.

"Over here big guy!" X shouted, firing several more shots at the behemoth.

"Ignore the girl." Cinder ordered. "Get after X, he is what we came here for."

The armour then started to fire its cannon again, aimed squarely at X. The reploid dashed away from it and behind cover. Rather than run further however, he made sure that the armour was still on his tail. It was necessary to make sure they did not go after Weiss and stop her plan. A plan that X hoped she would put into action soon!

Weiss meanwhile, had made her way to the far side of the warehouse. She then followed the wall until she found a ladder, leading right the way to the top of the warehouse. As she ascended, she could see X leading the armour on. The driver of it was obviously getting more and more frustrated as he was now starting to make the armour throw punches and stomps, despite Cinder saying she wanted X intact.

Weiss had to hurry up with her plan.

Reaching the top of the ladder, she stepped onto a steel grated walkway. This was normally used by workers in the warehouse to access the crane controls. But Weiss instead made her way onto the top of the runners that the crane moved along. She continued along it, until she reached the area where the hook itself was.

Looking downward to where the hook was, she smiled slightly at her good fortune. The workers had left a container full of parts still attached to the hook.

Weiss breathed deeply and closed her eyes. She was strong with her semblance, but something of this size would take concentration. As she focused, a white glyph with her snowflake emblem upon it, appeared behind the hook near the ceiling. Not breaking from her train of thought, she used her attraction glyph to pull the hook and its payload up towards the glyph, the wire cable of the crane losing its tension as the glyph took the weight.

X meanwhile had seen what Weiss was doing and, though he wasn't sure of her intentions, he knew that he needed to line up the armour with the crane hook. He ran back to a point where he knew the two would line up perfectly, before turning to face the armour and raising his hands.

"Alright Cinder. I give in, I can't fight this battle."

Cinder seemed surprised. "Why the sudden change of mind?" She asked with slight suspicion.

"Weiss and my friends will be long gone from here by now. As long as they are safe, I don't care what happens to me."

A bluff, yet one that he felt was not entirely untrue. Although this was all part of the plan. He felt deep down that the statement he had just made... was genuine. It obviously seemed that way to Cinder as she waved for the armour to lower it's weapons.

"I knew you would see things my way." she smirked.

X carefully looked back to Weiss, making sure Cinder did not notice what he was looking at. The girl quickly dropped her glyph and let gravity do the rest. The container was now swinging like a pendulum, straight towards the ride armour.

X smiled at Cinder. "You may wish I hadn't seen it your way. At least not at this moment." X then pointed to his right.

Confused, Cinder looked to the direction he had indicated, the ride armour turning too. Only for Cinder's face to drop in horror at the makeshift weapon coming towards them!

Cinder tried to leap off the armour, but she was a mere second too late. The driver of the armour had no time to react, and the machine took the full brunt of the attack.

A deep clang as the container hit the metallic suit, the force sending it moving with the container, straight towards the wall. With a massive smash, it went straight through, concrete and pieces of metal flying everywhere. The dust that followed, along with the sound of smaller pieces of debris still falling off the wall, told them that the plan had worked.

X pumped his fist as Weiss leapt off the crane to land beside him. The heiress touching down gracefully, without a sound.

"I have to admit, I don't think I would have thought of that! Great work Weiss." X congratulated her.

Weiss gave a cocky smile. Though she was secretly appreciative of the praise. "A simple plan, the fact that it worked shows what a low calibre of enemy we are fighting."

X chuckled slightly at Weiss' smugness. "Speaking of our enemies. Wanna go see if they're still in one piece? Their armour definitely isn't!"

The duo made their way through the hole in the wall to rejoin with their friends, and too see their foe face to face!

 **Database room**

Weiss and X made their way over the pile of rubble that lay at the base of the new path they had just made.

RBY had just finished apprehending the White Fang members when the armour came crashing through. The resulting destruction had left them in a slight shock.

"Hey guys!" X waved over to them.

"Man X! You can be a real psycho when you want to be!" Yang sounded impressed at the mess they had just made.

X scratched the back of his helmet. "Hey, it was Weiss' plan!" he joked. "I'm just glad it worked, that monstrosity nearly had us beat!"

"What even is that thing?" Ruby asked.

"Not sure." Weiss answered. "All I know is is that there was a driver, and the one giving orders to him was..."

" _cough...cough..._ ugh..." an out of breath voice spluttered from near the wreckage. Looking over, RWBY and X saw Cinder crawling out from the mess that was formerly her weapon.

"...Cinder."

RWBY all drew their weapons and moved to cover all sides. Even if Cinder was down, they knew she could still be dangerous.

The team edged forward slowly, still prepared for battle. Their eyes never left Cinder for a moment as they got ready to secure her for the trip to prison. They had finally caught her. The one responsible for all the White Fang's actions!

Cinder looked around at the four girls approaching her. With a slight grunt, she rolled onto her back and placed a hand on her chest. She was clearly winded. But instead of just accepting her fate.

She started to laugh.

Quietly at first, then slowly building up into a loud and evil cackle that even made X shudder slightly. The girls looked at each other in confusion.

"You have a weird sense of humour lady." Yang said.

"Don't move!" Blake snapped, in genuine anger. "We have you right where we want you."

Cinder stopped laughing for a second, taking a deep sigh. "Is that so?" she gestured to the ruined ride armour.

Turning to look at it, and RWBY's eyes widened. On the red front crystal, was a large number. Counting down!

 _3..._

 _2..._

 _1..._

 ***KABOOM** *

The team shielded themselves from the blast, though they were still blown back slightly. A bright light engulfing the area as the remains exploded outwards. Shards of hot metal flew all over the place, before the glow finally subsided and a dust covered the area where Cinder had once been.

"Everyone alright?" Ruby asked.

"I'm fine." Weiss grumbled as she dusted herself off.

"All good." Yang gave a thumbs up.

"I'm okay." Blake growled, annoyed that Cinder had just taken justice away from her.

"I'm OK." X confirmed.

"You are, huh? Guess I should have used more firepower then!"

X suddenly shot up. That voice. He had heard it before! A voice that he had seen in his memories, one that haunted him to this day! No, it couldn't be... could it?

"You don't recognise me? X, I'm crushed!" The voice spoke again through the dust. Mocking the Blue Bomber.

"Show yourself! Who are you?" Blake called into the dust.

"Ask X, he should know! He knows me better than anyone!"

(Insert music: Megaman Zero 2 Remastered - Combustion)

Then, from out of the dust, came a clanking of footsteps. Similar to X's, but much heavier. The silhouette that first appeared seemed humanoid, but with something attached to the right shoulder.

X's stood frozen with shock as the silhouette came into view.

The figure had a black covering on his thighs, upper arms and neck, with regular proportions to match. The rest of his body however, was covered in purple body armour with golden trim, save for white hands and feet, designed much like X's.

Most noticeable of all however, was the cannon that rested upon his right shoulder. Grey with a chain of golden bullets feeding into it, that extended onto a section on his back. And in addition to that. The helmet. It was purple, with grey sections on the cheek areas, as well as two red crystals with a gold rim that were meant to be ear sections. A black T shaped visor with one glowing red eye being all that was visible.

"After all!" The figure said. "How could X forget his old buddy...

X said the name at the exact same moment as the figure did.

" **VILE"**

 _ **DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUN! He's back baby!**_

 _ **So yeah, Vile has revealed himself! But, why is he working with Cinder? And how did he get here in the first place?**_

 _ **You know the drill! Stay tuned to find out!**_

 _ **Also, don't forget to review and share the story with others who may be interested in it!**_

 _ **Until next time.**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	13. Vile Development's

_**Yep, you all seemed to like Vile showing up! All part of the plan! :3**_

 _ **Let's continue on, shall we?**_

That was when it all went haywire for X. He clasped his hands to his head, groaning in pain. He had remembered Vile, now he was remembering everything else that came with him!

In his mind, images flashed past. He saw himself and Vile, working together! Fighting Maverick robots along with the other Hunters.

He saw Vile's betrayal. How he had gone rouge and gunned down his former allies with no remorse. Each shot of his cannon a haunting reminder. Followed by screams that were even more painful.

He saw the resurrected Vile, brought back by Doppler, and his battle with Vile atop the Jakob elevator.

And one final image.

He could see himself in a chamber. His own reflection in the glass window of a holding capsule. On the other side, the black abyss that was Vile's visor.

As the images repeated, faster and faster, he heard Vile say those venom infused words:

" _Don't think this is over X..."_

X's eyes flashed open as the sentence was finished.

" _I will haunt you to the day you die..."_

(Insert music: Maverick Hunter X – Encounter with Vile)

With that, he collapsed into a heap on the ground, his mind overloading from the sudden memory surge.

The girls rushed to him. Yang, being the strongest, lifting him up as they tried to get him to come to.

"X! X! Wake up!" Ruby cried, shaking his arm in a panic.

Blake turned to face Vile with a fury in her eyes.

"What did you do to him? Who the hell are you?"

The purple Reploid looked to X's unconscious form before laughing heartily, his head tilted back to signify his humour.

"Gahahahaaaaaa! I guess poor little X couldn't handle it. Seeing me again. Not that I blame him."

He turned to look Blake squarely in the eyes, his single red eye piercing through her very soul.

"The name is Vile. That name may not mean much to you, but if it was enough to make X's memory overload just from seeing me, you can tell I'm not to be messed with."

The group clenched their weapons as Blake continued the interrogation.

"You're talking like you know X, how?"

"Heh. Me and X?" Vile pointed to X as he spoke. "We go way back."

"So, you were friends?" Ruby asked, following the obvious train of logic.

"Friends? Aha... ahahaha... ahahahahahahahahaha! Oh that's a good one! Friends! Oh you poor innocent little thing. You could not be farther from the truth. I'll be honest. I have nothing against you personally, but I want X torn down to scrap metal. If you are going to stay in between me and my goal, then I'll have to take you down too!"

Vile loaded his cannon, the mechanism clunking into place as he pulled the weapon down and folded his arms.

"Not that I'm complaining. Come on kiddos, show me what you've got!"

(Insert music: Megaman Zero 2 – Supreme Ruler)

Blake was the first to go in, running at full speed before swinging her katana's into Vile's chest.

 ***Clank** *

Her blades hit, but there was no evidence of it. Surprised, she gave another volley of quick slashes across his upper torso. The girl started to pant as she put all her energy into the strikes.

Vile simply stood there as the blades bounced off harmlessly. Blake was slowing down now. Seeing this, Vile threw his head forward, headbutting Blake with enough force to draw blood!

Blake backed away, a hand over her eye, blood dripping down from the bottom of her palm and landing on the floor.

Weiss then made an attempt, making use of her various elemental shots. She switched to the red dust for explosive shots, the cartridge spinning before clicking into place. With almost no delay, she fired three projectiles at Vile.

The explosions engulfed him, blocking his form from sight with the debris cloud.

Weiss gave a small victorious smile as she put her rapier away.

That was when she heard a large round being fired and a yellow energy shot flew out of the smoke.

Weiss didn't stand a chance. She took the full brunt of the impact, though her aura prevented any major damage. She was still practically drained however, thanks to her earlier fight using a large amount of her power. She couldn't keep going on!

Blake meanwhile, was finishing patching her eye up. No permanent damage, but it would certainly hurt in the morning! A quick wrap around bandage had stopped the bleeding so she could at least hold her weapons again.

It was only after Weiss fell back, that Blake suddenly found herself catching a hold of X. Yang had passed the unconscious Reploid over to her as the blonde brawler cracked her knuckles and activated Ember Celica.

"Ready sis?" she asked.

"With you all the way!" Ruby answered as she extended the scythe blade on Crescent Rose.

Vile merely raised his arm, gesturing the two to come forward with a wave of his hand.

Both girls were only too happy to oblige his request, charging into battle with the armoured fiend. They drew their weapons back, preparing to strike from both sides, swiftly and decisively.

As they launched their strikes however, Vile suddenly took off. Small jets of flame came from his back and the bottoms of his feet.

"He can fly too? Now that's just cheating!" Ruby snarled.

"Aw, feel like you're missing out?" Vile asked before swooping down and grabbing Ruby by the collar.

"Maybe you'd like to see what it's like for yourself?"

With that, Vile shot upwards, taking Ruby with him. As they reached the height of the roof, Vile tossed her above him before flying up and digging an elbow into Ruby's chest. He then ignited his thrusters and rocketed back towards the ground. Holding Ruby underneath him, the pair hit the ground like a meteorite!

Ruby lay still on the ground, small cracks in the floor spread out around her. Her chest heaving up and down as she tried to recover from what may as well have been a cannonball to her chest.

Vile aimed his cannon at Ruby, staring down at her with an air of disgust.

"As if you pitiful humans could hold a candle to the likes of me. End of the line, kid."

Then, Vile heard an almighty shout.

"YOU BASTARD!"

As he looked to where the voice was coming from, he saw Yang throwing a right hook at him. Unlike the other girls weapons, Yang's did not need a special edged material to help it do damage, her brute strength was enough.

Vile quickly learned this as the punch connected with his helmet. Expecting no power from it, he took the blow with no resistance.

The loud metal clang that resonated around the room was a sure sign of his mistake. Vile wasn't sent shooting back or anything like that, but it was enough to throw him off balance slightly, having to take several steps back in shock.

"Gah! You little..."

Yang kept up the pressure, switching to the front, she held vile down with her left hand on his back and used her right to repeatedly pummel his gut. Had Vile any organs, he would probably have perished.

Damage was being dealt however, the black under armour that was visible on Vile's gut was starting to show small cracks and sparks.

Time to finish this. Yang released Vile for her next strike. Raising both arms above her, she swung down onto Vile's helmet with all her might.

"HEYAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Vile went face first into the floor, the rest of his body following soon after. More cracks in his helmet were now visible. He gave a small groan as Yang walked away.

"How was that for a 'pitiful human'?" Yang shot back at Vile.

She walked away from Vile, a proud look on her face, at least until...

"AUUGH!"

Yang fell to the ground, light smoke coming from a major burn on her back, just under her low cut top.

"That, was average at best." Vile snarled.

The girls could not believe it. This guy had just taken a pummelling from Yang, one of the strongest girls in Beacon, and he was still fighting? The same could not be said for RWBY. They were a skilled team, but Vile outmatched them in every area. In their defence, they had fought some major battles just before this encounter, but even at full strength, Vile was superior. Their weapons wouldn't even scratch him!

"Pathetic. You humans were weak then, and you're weak now." Vile spat as he looked at the defeated team before him.

He then turned to X, who was coming to. Readying his cannon once again, he paced over to him, the Reploid's feet thudding heavily on the concrete.

"Now, where were we?" he asked sarcastically.

X opened his eyes, allowing them to adjust to his surroundings. He could remember it all clearly now. Everything about Vile.

He gave a gasp as he saw team RWBY lying defeated around the room. Ruby herself was the closest to him. X made his way over to the girl, checking to see if she was...

He gave a relieved sigh as he found she was still breathing.

"Four against one and they still couldn't beat me. I really don't get what you see in these humans, X."

X was now beside himself with rage. He drew his buster, and with a hatred filled cry, he opened fire on Vile. Vile dashed through his shots and fired his cannon.

"Gah!" X fell backwards as the shot hit him.

Vile gave a sinister laugh. "Just like our first meeting. You're weak. You haven't got the power to defeat me yet. Only this time, you won't get the chance to!"

X kicked X while he was down, the Hunter rolled with the kick, ending up right next to Ruby again. He groaned slightly as he tried to stand again.

"When you killed me the first time, it took all of your energy, all of your upgrades and all of your weapons. Well guess what? You haven't got any of those now! You're just a bare bones Reploid, nothing more!"

X suddenly had a thought. His weapons. He could remember using other attacks against Vile. One's he had gotten from other enemies. It was a shame there were none here...

Unless...

Could it work? He had to try if he or his friends wanted to survive this battle. The effects could be very different, but X had no choice.

He reached over to Ruby, placed a hand on her arm and focused.

Vile merely watched on. "That's right, curl up and say goodbye to your friend, it's... what the hell?"

X's arm started to glow red, then his head, feet, his whole body! He stood up and prepared for what was about to happen.

(Insert music: Megaman ZX Advent Tunes – Determined Eyes)

The first few changes were simple. His colour scheme changing from blue and cyan, to red and black colours. From there though, other changes were happening. His armour became bulkier, the leg parts especially. Extra dash boosters appeared on his legs, arms and back area. Large calibur sniper bullets formed on a belt around his waist, and the centre of his chest had a large metal cross on it. On his back, something began to materialise. An energy cloak, red in colour that covered his shoulders and was held on by a silver broach shaped like a rose.

The Z sabre changed as well. As well as having the colour change, the handle extended to become the length of X himself. The weapon then ignited and a brilliant purple energy blade shot out. It was a scythe, just like Ruby's.

X looked at himself in amazement, before his eyes became determined once more. Clasping the energy scythe in his hand, he stood defiantly, ready to take on Vile with his new form.

Vile was taken aback, though he tried not to show it. "Fancy costumes ain't gonna work on me X!" Vile then fired his cannon again.

X started to spin the scythe around like a propeller. An outer ring of purple energy forming as he did so. The shot connected and... did nothing. It merely dissipated as it hit the scythe blade.

"My turn." X smiled.

He swung the scythe underarm, the blade skimming the floor slightly. As he raised it up, a wave of energy was sent out at a blistering pace. It shot towards Vile, sweeping the purple Reploid off his feet.

"Woah! What the-?"

As he was airborne, X activated his buster. Though it had changed too. Various mechanisms whirred and clicked as his arm cannon elongated it's barrel and a scope appeared on top of it. It was like Ruby's sniper rifle!

X didn't even need the scope. He took aim and fired.

The sound of the shot was deafening, and the knock back nearly caught X out, though he caught himself in time.

The shot was like a tracer round, a red shot of pure, focused energy and it hit Vile right in the gut. Already weakened by Yang earlier, it tore right through him.

"AAAAAAAAARRRGGGH!" Vile yelled in pain as he fell to one knee, a hand clutched to his stomach area. He was shaking and sparking more now and was sounding out of breath.

"Ha-haha-ah ha- argh. I guess... they aren't as weak... as I thought they were. Heh heh- * **cough cough** *."

X readied himself for another shot. He was about to pull the trigger, when Vile pulled Cinder from the rubble and held her in front of himself.

X gasped and lowered his weapon.

"Of course, you can't bring yourself to hurt a human. Even if they are as twisted as Cinder here. You may regret that soon, X."

Vile reactivated his jets before aiming his cannon at the ceiling and shooting a hole through it. Daylight broke in as Vile flew towards it with Cinder.

He turned back to X, who would not shoot so long as Cinder was with him.

"Don't think this is over X. You'll get stronger, but so will I! Those kids won't be able to protect you forever! It may not be today, but someday soon, I WILL TEAR YOU APART!"

With that final threat, Vile flew off, leaving the warehouse in silence.

As he reverted back to his original form, X stared on at where his old rival had just been. He was still in slight shock it had to be said. One thing was for sure, if Vile was back, then things were a lot worse than he had expected.

 **On the Bullhead back to Beacon**

"Alright, let me just go through this all again, so I know I've got it." Ruby said. "So you were made with the power to copy other robots abilities. Right?"

"Right." X answered for the fourth time.

"Yet somehow, that ability has evolved, and you can now copy human weapons and powers."

"That's it, you've got it."

"Awesome!" Ruby squeaked, eyes lit up. "Why have one weapon when you can have them all?"

X rolled his eyes slightly at Ruby's adorable yet creepy weapon fetish.

"Now that's all cleared up, perhaps you would like to tell us who this 'Vile' character is?" Weiss asked, though it was really more of a demand.

Blake reinforced the query. "We've fought some tough opponents before, but that guy wasn't even scratched by our weapons. Not to mention he had enough of an arsenal on him to wipe out a small army. What exactly does he want you for X?"

X gave a slightly sad sigh as he thought back. His memory of Vile was crystal clear now, though there were some parts he wished weren't.

"Shortly after my discovery, the humans of the time wanted to make a peace keeping group to control any robot criminals. One's that they labelled as 'Mavericks'."

"By the time I was being brought into the Maverick Hunters, Vile was already an experienced veteran. Back then he was like me, a Reploid who wanted to uphold law and order. Though his methods were a bit more... forceful."

"During one of our battles however, Vile was injured."

X thought back, they were fighting a small band of illegal traders. Vile got careless and moved from cover too soon, taking a buster shot straight to the top of his head.

"We got him back and patched him up. There didn't seem to be any major damage at the time. Then again, we didn't know what we were looking for."

The girls looked at each other, confused as X continued.

"Although Vile was fine physically, the shot had damaged something we didn't understand much of. Namely, his personality matrix. From then on, Vile was a changed Reploid. Before, he could cause a little collateral damage during our operations. But this new Vile, he seemed to just crave destruction, like an addiction!"

"One day, his actions cost the lives of an entire unit of Maverick Hunters, as well as several innocent bystanders. Vile was deemed unfit for duty and was suspended."

"In his rage though, he broke out of confinement, eager to scratch that itch for mayhem that the injury caused. From then on, Vile was regarded as a Maverick."

"That still doesn't explain why he is so focused on killing you." Ruby said.

"Ruby's right." Yang joined in. "Surely to get his kicks he just has to blow up something, so why go for a target as strong as yourself?"

"Heh. Well, we did end up catching him not long after he became Maverick. The one who put him back behind bars, the one who kept him from doing any more harm, it was me. That's why he wants me dead. Vile has long since gotten over his lust for destruction. Now it's just a side effect of achieving his real goal..."

"Destroying you." Blake weakly finished X's sentence.

"Yeah..." X softly said before giving a small sigh.

He was in kind of a downer mood, understandably. Yang however, would have none of it. She gave X a cheery punch on his shoulder.

"I know you're painted blue, but you don't have to be so glum. So you have an arch nemesis who wants you dead, trust me, we know how you feel!"

Blake came over and placed her hand over X's. "We're your friends X, and that means no matter what happens, no matter who we have to face, we face them together."

X couldn't help but smile at that.

"All for one and one for all!" Ruby cheered, placing her hand in with Blake and X's.

Yang followed suit, then they all looked to Weiss. She stood there silently for a few seconds before giving a sigh.

"Fine."

Reluctantly, she put her hand in with the rest of her team. X looked at his friends and the confidence they practically radiated.

"It won't be easy, but nothing worth fighting for ever is. Vile and Cinder may be just a few of the challenges we face, but I know for sure, so long as we remain together. We will fight, and we will win!"

 **Neo Arcadia – Throne Room**

(Insert music: Megaman Legends 2 – Yosyonke Church)

A barren room. White walls and floor, with a few blue lines of power on each. The only thing to even take up any space within this chamber, was a spectacular golden throne, the back of which formed the shape of an 'X'. Along with this magnificent throne, were six other smaller thrones. Each was white in colouration and had no major differences between them, they had simple straight architecture.

Who sat in these seats however, was the point of interest. All the figures wore the white hooded cloaks with gold trim and purple inner lining. None could be identified because of this, save for one who had his hood down. The Reploid scientist. His purple headpiece standing out against the other hooded figures.

The figure upon the golden throne, was the woman from the forest. Beside her stood the male who had accompanied her. As the others sat patiently, she spoke.

"So, the humans were able to defeat your Scorpia Mechanaloid."

The scientist answered. "Regrettably, they were. It seems that X's abilities with modifying them were far more competent than I had first thought."

Another figure spoke. This one was well built and his voice was deep and booming.

"I warned you not to underestimate him Gate. X's ability is not something that can be analysed by your simple science. His power is a mysterious one, one that his creator took to the grave with him."

Gate smirked. "I suppose you would know that lesson all too well. You have suffered defeat at his hands before have you not?"

The larger figure did not rise to the bait. Instead, another took over. This one was much smaller, being more human sized with the voice of a young boy.

"We all have. Isn't that why we are here? We all share an ideal, and we all share a common enemy."

"Well said." The female continued. "Our petty squabbles are of no concern, let us get back to the topic at hand. Gate, was the Scorpia able to extract the essence?"

Gate held out his hand and let the black smokey orb appear in it. He showed it to the others in the room, the figures all taking note of what it looked like and what it's power felt like.

"This is what I require all of you to go and find. The essence of these creatures is essential to our plans. Powerful though we may be, we are few. Collecting this essence, will enable us to remove that disadvantage."

Silence fell upon the room for a few seconds before the girl spoke again.

"I see one of our thrones is empty. I take it from this observation that Vile has refused our offer."

On one of the thrones sat two figures. One about three times the size of a human with a voice to match. The other sat atop his shoulder, being normal size, he was able to fit comfortably. They spoke in unison.

" _Let the fool perish. He stands no chance of defeating X by himself!"_

The final figure was human sized as well. He sat lazily in his throne, one foot on the seat and his arms relaxed on the arms.

"Hey, it's not that big a deal. If we're lucky, he might be able to get ride of a few of those annoying Hunters that X has teamed up with."

The laid back figure drew a purple energy blade from his wrist.

"Not that I mind taking them out myself."

"I will hold you to that." The deep voiced one said.

The girl spoke once more.

"It matters not, for I have some news that may interest you all. We have found a suitable replacement."

A figure teleported in and sat upon the empty throne. He was the same size as X, though he did not speak.

"Is that who I think it is?" The relaxed figure queried.

A nod from the girl.

"Soon the time will come when we shall strike X down for good. And I can think of no one better to do it than our new member here."

The new figure looked to the others. You could not see much of him. Save for a glowing blue crystal in his forehead.

 **Another chapter down!**

 **Phew! Lot's for you to think over! X has new weapons to acquire from his friends! Gate is a confirmed villain, along with others you may or may not know. Not to mention a new mystery villain has joined the ranks!**

 **Just who are these guys? What are they collecting Grimm for? What are their plans, or Cinder's for that matter?**

 **Only time will tell!**

 **Don't forget to review and share!**

 **TOODLE PIP!**


	14. A Penny For Your Thoughts

_**I've seen the comments, I've seen the positive responses. To quote Bane:**_

" _ **Our plan is proceeding as expected."**_

 _ **Let's keep this train rolling. Time for a more peaceful chapter methinks!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

" _Blake..."_

The young Faunus raised her head slowly as her eyes gently opened.

An abyss. Nothing but inky blackness everywhere she looked. Where was she? Blake looked around franticly, trying to find some sort of indication of where she was.

Again, the voice whispered.

" _Blake..."_

This time she listed for the source of the voice. A voice she had heard before. Turning right round, she came face to face with a person she hoped never to see again.

"Adam." She said quietly.

"It's been far too long since we last saw each other." Adam smiled from beneath his Grimm mask.

"I could live my whole life without seeing you, and it would still be too short." Blake replied, eyes narrowed.

"Ah yes. The promise you made to yourself. That you would change this world for the better. That you would stand up to the corruption and injustice of this world. All without resorting to our, how you say 'barbaric' practices."

"Most others would agree with me! Kidnapping, ransoming, taking hostages, even going so far as to murder in cold blood!" Blake raged at her former partner.

Adam paused for a moment before speaking again.

"Necessities. Every single life we take, it's all for our ideal, Blake."

He walked over to her and gently lifted her chin to look at him.

"It's all for peace and equality. For a better world. Is that not what you want."

Blake stepped back from the White Fang superior.

"I do. You know I would wish for that more than anything. But taking human lives is not the answer!"

Adam merely chuckled.

"There you go again. Always coming back to the humans. Even when they mistreat our people. Even when they lock us up and throw us in tiny cells. Even if they murder our own kind! You still go back to them."

Blake stayed silent, waiting to see what Adam's aim was in all of this.

"Some people might call that foolish or blindly following."

Suddenly, Adam drew Wilt, his traditional Japanese blade. A weapon that had brought an end to so many who dared to stand against him. He held it inches from Blake's face.

"I call it traitorous!"

Blake fell back and started to crawl away. As she got up she could see Adam slowly following her. She ran on, she didn't care where, she just needed to get away from him!

" _How does it feel? To betray your own kind? It's not the first time you've done it either!"_

The voice, it wouldn't stop following her!

" _Remember after our little meeting with Cinder? You cut the train cars and though you could leave your old life behind."_

She kept running, she couldn't stop and let him catch her!

" _Or maybe that infiltration with your monkey friend? Not content with leaving, you wanted to rat us out!"_

Blake skidded to a halt as she found herself surrounded by White Fang members. All their faces veiled by their masks. They didn't move a muscle, refusing to let her past, as Adam made his way into the centre of the group where Blake was.

Blake reached for her weapons, only to find they weren't there!

"You can't keep running, and you can't keep fighting, Blake. You cannot just ignore who you were or what you did. In the end, it will catch up with you and when it does..."

Adam held his Blade to the Faunus girl's throat, the cold metal edge grazing her skin.

"... everything you love will perish for it!"

With that, he swiped the blade across her throat as Blake gave a final gasp.

 _ **Team RWBY's Room**_

Blake shot upright in her bed. Her black yukata was drenched in sweat and her heart was racing. She took a look around the room. It was late morning, around 11 if she had to guess. Her teammates were already gone so no one was around to hear her little outburst.

Sighing deeply, she fell back onto her bed, lost in thought. Another dream about him. Well, nightmare to be precise.

It had been a week since the incident with Cinder and Vile. Ever since that day, Blake had been having the same recurring dream. There were several differences between them, but they all involved him.

Adam.

The few times her teammates had seen her tossing in her sleep or waking with a fright, she had always passed it off as just a random nightmare, often making up some story about Grimm or something like that.

Every time, she had thought to herself: "Why are these only starting now?"

It was only recently that she had figured out why.

X was ancient. 8000 years old at least. An eternity for most people. Yet his past, no matter how deeply it was buried, was coming back to haunt him. That was why the dreams started when Vile showed up.

If X's past was still haunting him after all this time, Blake was sure that hers would be doing the same soon enough.

Wearily, Blake rolled over to check the scroll at her bedside. She found a text from Yang.

 _Hey Kitty! We have a day off today and you seemed so purrfect sleeping there, we didn't wanna wake you!_

Even in text form there was no escape from Yang's humour. She read on.

 _We're down in the training hall. Ozpin said he had something to show us and JNPR. Catch up when you can!_

 _X_

 _Yang_

Was the kiss really necessary? Blake was about to get up and get ready when she saw another message underneath in the corner of her eye.

 _BTW, if you need to talk about anything, don't be afraid to. It's what friends are for._

She let the hand she was holding the scroll in droop down. The message had just made her realise the truth. Her friends knew and she couldn't keep this a secret forever. She trusted them of course, but the thing that kept her back...

Was fear.

Not fear of what her friends would think. Not far of being mocked by her peers for being a wimp who had to talk about her feelings. No, it was fear of what she would get her friends involved in. Adam was dangerous, ans she didn't want her friends to get involved with him.

Then she remembered X. While he was her friend too, he was also in the same situation. She couldn't tell him outright, but some advice from him couldn't hurt.

With that course of action in mind, Blake finally got up to freshen up and meet her friends in the training hall.

 _ **15 minutes later**_

Blake made her way through the halls towards her destination. The halls were jam packed with pupils and teachers hurrying to classes, going on missions, or setting up for the Vytal festival. Come to think of it, that was only a few weeks away!

It was actually very impressive that despite all that had taken place, including this new threat from Vile, that the festival seemed to be going on ahead as normal. Of course they couldn't just cancel it, but the schools had done a surprisingly good job of keeping the information under wraps.

Blake entered the training hall. It was not the main battle arena for fights, more of a side area for practice. It was similar in design to one of the ancient peoples battle arenas, X said they were called the Greeks and that their design was thousands of years older than himself!

The floor was marble with various patterns painted on it such as a halfway line and starting areas for the competitors. On the four corners stood four stone pillars, complete with decorative carvings of famous Hunters watching over the arena.

As she approached, Blake could see the rest of her team and JNPR practising on some training robots. The robots lacked any real form of skill and were mostly used to test new weapon mechanics or try experimental move combinations. As a result, the robots were easily tossed aside by the powerful Hunters. Even Jaune had no trouble!

Strangely enough though, none of the teams had their weapons with them!

Blake did remember Ozpin asking for them last night, though he said they would be returned to them today.

"Hey! Kitty cats here!" Yang called to the others as they stopped their fights to talk to her.

The robots too, retracted their weapons and moved to the side of the arena before deactivating, waiting until they were called upon again.

"How're you feeling Blake?" Ruby asked. "We thought it best to leave you be, given how the past few days have gone."

Blake gave a small smile to her friend. "I appreciate the concern but I'm fine, please don't get yourselves all worked up over me. By the way, what's everyone doing here anyway?"

"Oh! Right! Ozpin said for all of us to meet here to get our weapons back." Jaune answered.

"He better hurry it up! It's been way too long since I gave some serious beat downs with Magnhild!" Nora said, the orange haired bundle of energy was bouncing gently on her feet.

"It's only been a day Nora." Ren calmly spoke.

"A day too long!" she answered.

"Well you need not wait any longer Miss Valkyrie."

As if on cue, Ozpin approached the groups, his usual coffee mug steaming away in his hand. X walked beside him, carrying their weapons.

As in all of them...seriously...shields and all.

"Here you go guys, come and get them. Quickly please, they are pretty heavy all together!" X said, straining slightly.

The teams picked up their gear and started to inspect it, eager to see what had been done to them. Nora was the last to pick hers up, allowing X to finally give his arms some rest.

"You may recall that X was able to get a sample from one of the Reaverbot shields when he rescued Team RWBY from the Emerald Forest. We have been able to coat the blades of your weapons in the same material, as well as the faces of your shields." Ozpin explained.

"Of course, all the students and teachers will be receiving the upgrade. However, given your relationship with X and by extension, his enemies, I thought it best to prioritise your two teams.

Ruby drew her scythe out and looked at the gleaming Ceretanium edge.

"Will this be able to get through Vile and the Reaverbots?" she asked.

"Judging from the structure of the metal, it should be able to get through anything." a familiar voice replied.

Seemingly unsighted by everyone, Winter entered.

"Ah, Miss Schnee. To what do we owe this pleasure?" Ozpin greeted.

Winter maintained her aloof stature. Though X knew she was a bit softer outside of public situations.

"I was just checking up on X. He was transferred to you through the Schnee company after all."

She turned to X.

"And from what I've seen so far, you've been causing quite a stir. This Vile character for one, not to mention having the White Fang elite chasing you down. You're quite a popular person at the moment it would seem."

X was unsure if that was an observation, compliment or sarcasm. Winter could be very enigmatic when she wanted to.

"Well, I do actually have one other piece of business with you Ozpin."

"Is that so?"

"We have been very appreciative of you taking X here at Beacon and given that you were so willing to take him under your wing, we we're wondering if you could do it for another of our own."

Ozpin's answer was almost immediate. "Why of course Winter. If X is anything to go by, your student to be would make an excellent addition to the academy."

As if on cue, a girl came forward. One that Ruby seemed to recognise, as a massive smile appeared on her face.

The girl had short, curly, ginger hair with a pink bow in the back of it. Her bright green eyes contrasted with the hairstyle, as did her outfit. It consisted of an old fashioned blouse with feminine overalls. She wore a black and green collar with matching stockings.

What most failed to notice however, though X did, was the appearance of her iris's. It was hard to make out, but there seemed to be something off about them. X had his theory but he kept it to himself for now.

"May I introduce Miss Penny Poledina." Winter announced.

(Insert music: Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep – Innocent Times)

"Sal-u-tations everyone!" Penny chirped with a rather exaggerated wave of her hand.

"Penny!" Ruby squeaked back, rushing in to hug the girl.

"So, guess you know each other then?" Ren deduced.

"We're acquainted." Weiss answered. "We met Penny in Vale a while ago. Turns out she's a very skilled fighter."

"Damn right she is! She kicked Roman's butt when we met up!" Ruby finished, still hugging Penny before she relinquished her grip and allowed Ozpin to speak.

"Well, we don't have any more students to make up a team, but if she is a friend of yours Miss Rose, then I don't see why she cannot work alongside you and your team."

Penny peered around Ruby and her friends while they were chatting amongst themselves. That was when she saw X. The only person here she hadn't met. Winter saw Penny looking out of the corner of her eye.

"That's right, I don't believe you have met yet. Penny, this is X. One of the last of a race of ancient machines known as Reploids."

Penny gave a small gasp, hand over her mouth before rushing up to X and firmly shaking his hand. So suddenly that X had to use actual force to match her gesture.

"Greetings X! It is an honour to finally meet you!"

X shook his head as he recovered from Penny's handshake.

"So, you've heard of me then?"

"Oh yes! You are highly thought of at Schnee HQ! You are what many would call a legend!"

X couldn't help but be a bit bashful after hearing that. He hadn't really been used to getting praise in his old line of work as a Maverick Hunter. Now though, it was like he was a celebrity! Naturally, that took some getting used too.

"Well, I shall leave you to get settled in, Penny. I shall see you all at the Vytal Festival." With that, Winter departed. Weiss watching her every step until she was out of sight.

"Sweet! Come on guys! It is our day off, let's go have some fun!" Ruby ordered, pointing heroically in a random direction.

"You guys go on ahead." X said. "I just want to have a quick chat with Penny."

The two teams headed off, Ruby waved to Penny as she left, the girl returning the gesture until they had left the hall. It was then that she turned to X who had a rather confident look on his face.

"I have to admit it." He began. "For a group of humans who haven't built a Reploid before, they've done a pretty good job."

Penny fumbled slightly after hearing X say that. "I... um... I am unsure as to what you mean by that."

 _*hic*_

X laughed a little. Not in a mean way, it was just too adorable that she hiccuped every time she lied.

"So, how did you find out?" Penny asked.

"A person's eyes can tell you a lot of things. Yours have the same broad range, telescopic eye cameras that mine do. The only way you could have gotten them, is if Schnee got the specifications from me."

Penny, though impressed by his observation, was twiddling her thumbs nervously. "You are not going to tell anyone about this. Are you? I'm supposed to be kept a secret. Only Ruby and you know about my secret."

X moved a finger over his mouth. "My lips are sealed. I wasn't going to tell anyway. It's just good to know that there's someone else out there like me."

Penny then grabbed his hand and dashed off, dragging the Hunter with her.

"Then onwards, friend X! Much joy and merriment awaits us with our companions!"

 _ **Bit of a shorter chapter, but also slightly light hearted.**_

 _ **You wanted her, you got her! Penny Poledina has arrived! What adventures await our heroes as they take advantage of their day off!**_

 _ **Tune in next time to find out!**_

 _ **Review and share!**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	15. A Day Off

_**Right, time for some reviews methinks.**_

 _ **MetalSonic30: Time will tell my friend, just make sure you're ready for when things get really serious!**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: Yeah, what could possibly go wrong? Also, since it may well not come up, the official name I have given these villains is 'The Aberrant Council'.**_

 _ **SparktheDog: Well... no. Simply because Lumine is a boy! I know the Japanese version has him as a girl, but here in Britain, he was a dude!**_

 _ **MegaLegends29: We ain't even got started yet!**_

 _ **Neema Amiry: Merci!**_

 _ **Riderman09: SSSSHHH! Don't tempt fate!**_

 _ **With that all cleared up, enjoy the chapter!**_

X and Penny finally caught up to their friends in the library. As with everything at Beacon, it was very grand in it's architecture. A long hall of white marble with beautiful stained glass windows along the sides, each telling various tales from the past. The shelves of books seemed to be endless and their height was so immense that several mechanaloids were used to reach books down for students. There were also several large desks complete with Holographic computers, many of which were in use by students.

Despite being a place of study, many students (as the teachers would often tell you) used this area as a socializing point. The room was gargantuan enough to ensure that talking would not be heard. Even then there were various side study areas that could be used to hide from the librarians. That was precisely where X, Penny, RWBY and JNPR were right now.

While most of the group were sat on the chairs, floor or leaning back against the wall, Yang was standing atop on of the tables with her hands on her hips, using the air conditioning to make her hair blow about dramatically.

"Alright boys, babes and bots!"

"Babes?" Weiss whispered, slightly miffed.

"We have one day off and I know exactly what we can do with it! We all know what's coming up, right?"

"The Vytal Festival Tournament?" Pyrrha answered.

"Precisely, but before that happens, Vale gets a bit of a makeover!"

The idea suddenly clicked with Ruby. "Oh! The Vytal Culture Festival!"

"Exactly! All of the kingdoms meeting up in one place, it'll have it all! Great food, shopping, a bit of history and culture to help X on his way and most importantly! Students coming here to practice for the tournament!"

The others were all in agreement of Yang's idea.

"So we make a day of it!" she said. "We head down in to Vale and just enjoy ourselves! Maybe get a look at some of the competition too!"

"YEAH! Let's get going!" Nora shouted, before a rather disgruntled looking librarian came through the door. Placing a finger over her mouth and telling them to shush.

Nora gave a goofy grin before going red with embarrassment. With that sorted, the group made their way out of Beacon.

 **Train to Vale City Centre**

The white shuttle train glided smoothly along the sky rail system. It was one of the many thing the people of Remnant had been able to create once they discovered the new technologies. The sky rail ran on light based rails which used only miniscule amounts of power, reduced costs and were far more comfortable.

Not to mention the perks of the great views you could get. The sights of modern sleek buildings, the hustle and bustle of the streets below and the mountains and ocean in the distant skyline. It was, for want of a better word, magnificent.

The sights were not of interest to our heroes at the moment though. They were far to busy enjoying the company of each other. Despite being such close friends, the constant classes and missions meant there was little in the way of free time for the teams. As such, they took every chance they could get to be together, as they all knew that life as Hunter was not a guarantee of a long life.

No one truly knows what will happen in the future, so the Hunters made sure to not waste a moment of it.

A voice on the automated system quickly caught their attention.

 _Now arriving at: Vale Central Station. Please alight here for: City Centre, Schnee Inc. Offices and Sky Rail connections to Vacuo, Mistral and Atlas. Please mind the gap._

The teams disembarked from the train onto the bustling platform. A mix of humans, Faunus and mechanaloids were hurriedly making their way to their trains. It made for quite the chaotic scene, but they all made their way to the exits and towards the main City Plaza.

Penny was looking around in a slight daydream, taking in every little detail, even the simplest of things. The people going to work, porters tending to passengers bags, even the buskers that were playing just before the gates. While these seemed like every day occurrences to many, Penny had never seen these things before. X smiled as he watched Penny's child like wonder at the world around her.

At least that was the case until he was forced to stop suddenly, due to a white robotic hand being held up to his face.

Coming back to reality, he saw that RWBY and JNPR had been stopped too. The culprit was a group of Atlesian Knights. They looked similar to the ones X had seen in Schnee HQ, but he noticed on their arm was a yellow band with the word 'SECURITY' in bold black letters.

The robot spoke in it's usual monotone voice.

" _REMAIN CALM CITIZEN, WE ARE REQUIRED TO PERFORM A STANDARD SECURITY CHECK ON YOU BEFORE YOU MAY PROCEED."_

The robot turned to another nearby. This one held a hand held scanning device.

" _COMMENCE SCANNING PROCESS."_

" _AFFIRMITIVE."_ The other replied, before walking up to X and moving the scanner all over him. A few whirs and beeps could be heard. X turned to the others. Pyrrha and Yang were currently having the same thing done to them.

"Um, pardon me for asking but, is this really necessary?" X asked.

" _DUE TO AN INCREASE IN TERROIST ACTIVITIES, THE GOVERNMENT HAS DEEMED THESE CHECKS MANDATORY FOR ALL CIVILIANS, MECHANALOIDS AND HUNTERS. THIS UNIT APOLOGISES FOR ANY INCONVINIENCE."_

Terrorists. X knew only too well that this robot was talking about Cinder and the White Fang. It made sense since her audacious raid on the Schnee Company.

" _SCANS INDICATE NO UNAUTHORISED WEAPONARY, ALL WEAPONARY DETECTED HAS BEEN CLEARED BY BEACON ACADEMY. PLEASE ONLY MAKE USE OF IT IN DESIGNATED COMBAT ZONES, MISUSE OF WEAPONARY WILL LEAD TO TERMINATION FO HUNTER STATUS AND UP TO 10 YEARS IMPRISONMENT."_

Typical Atlesian Knights, frank and to the point.

" _THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE, HAVE A NICE DAY."_

With that, X was free to move on. He relaxed against a nearby wall while he waited for his friends. Pyrrha and Yang had gone through at the same time as him, so they were both waiting with him.

"This is ridiculous, I hate having to wait for these scans." Yang grumbled.

"If it keeps civilians safe, I don't think the wait is a problem. I'd rather be a little late than let a White Fang terrorist through." Pyrrha responded.

"I guess it makes sense for civilians, but we're Hunters! Our whole job is to protect people from the White Fang, we're hardly going to charging in all guns blazing."

"My thoughts exactly, sweet cheeks!"

The trio looked to the new voice that had chimed in to the conversation.

(Insert music: Megaman Legends 2 – Bola's Theme)

The figure that stood beside them was a boy about their age. He wore a crimson top and shorts as well as crimson heavy boots with silver tops at the lace area. His legs and arms were wrapped in beige bandages as was his lower face, obscuring his mouth and the top of his head. Drooping down to cover the back and sides of his head was a red turban, though the top was covered by the bandage. He also wore black gloves and a large single hand blade was attached to a sheath on his back.

"Who you calling sweet cheeks?" Yang said, slightly miffed.

"To the lovely lady beside me of course. Then again, both of you fit that role pretty well."

Pyrrha giggled. "Have we met before?"

"Unfortunately not." The figure took a bow. "The name's Bola. It's a pleasure to finally meet you Miss Nikos, and you Miss Xiao Long."

"You've heard of us?" Yang seemed surprised.

"Word travels fast among the academies. You've had your fair share of escapades, not to mention bring down Roman Torchwick. Nice work on that by the way."

Yang beamed with pride.

"Oh, where are my manners. I almost forgot to about you X. Silly of me since you're half the reason I'm here!"

Bola held out a hand for X to shake, which he did so before asking in confusion.

"I'm the reason you're here?"

"Heh. Well, everyone wants to fight the last of the Reploids. Difference is, I intend to beat you. That's the whole reason I've travelled from Mistral to partake in the Festival Tournament."

"You mean that's why WE travelled from Mistral!"

A sudden deep voice came from where the security checkpoint was. Yang, Pyrrha and X looked to see who it was as Bola gave a small sigh.

(Insert music: Megaman Legends 2 - Klaymoor's theme)

A figure matching his deep voice approached the trio, his footsteps thudding the ground as he paced over. The figure was at least 7 and a half feet tall. He wore black plate armour with heavy bolts throughout it. A large silver belt with a yellow crystal was around his waist and some silver criss cross pattern metalwork extended from his belt tot the bottom of his armour on the centre front. Again, the armour obscured his facial features. You could see his eyes, but nothing else. A small red ponytail came out of the back of his helmet.

"Klaymoor, do you really have to cause such a ruckus everywhere you go?" Bola asked.

"Do you have to constantly try to woo ladies every time you see them? Get with it Bola, at least I have the mindset to win this tournament. You're just goofing around with your over inflated ego."

"Ladies and Gent. Let me introduce my partner; Klaymoor."

By now, the rest of Team RWBY and JNPR, as well as Penny, were through the security, and were all gathered around the two newcomers.

"So, these are the famous RWBY and JNPR I've heard so much about. I'm not sure what I expected. Perhaps people a little... tougher looking."

Nora didn't need to hear any more than that. "Oh! Is that supposed to be a challenge?"

"Hmph. Only if you want it to be!"

"Bring it ya overgrown tin can!"

"Nora..." Ren tried to interrupt

"Just name the place!" Klaymoor shot back.

"City Plaza, jousting arena, 3pm! Be there!"

"Nora, stop..."

"Ohoho! We will!"

"We will?" Bola asked.

"We will?" Jaune asked.

"We will!" Nora confirmed.

"It's settled then! I'm looking forward to this! Me and Bola will take two of your team on! Choose wisely! We shall see you at 3pm."

With that, Klaymoor marched off towards the exit.

Bola gave another deep sigh. "That's my partner, always looking for a fight."

"Trust me, we know how you feel." Jaune replied, pointing a thumb at Nora. "Doesn't mean we'll back down though! He wants a fight, he'll get it!"

"Hehe. Well, I'll see you there then. In the meantime, enjoy yourselves, I know I will. See you around."

With that, Bola made a puff of smoke appear around himself. When it had cleared, he was gone.

"Well, that happened. Thanks to Nora." Weiss stated.

"Who cares? They seem nice enough, and we could always use the practice. We'll decide who fights them later on, for now, let's go see what's happening at the festival!" Yang replied.

With that said, the group finally made their way out of the station, and into the city streets.

 **Vale City Plaza**

The plaza was normally busy. As the central hub of the city, you would expect it to be. Today however, it was even busier than usual. The whole area was covered with stalls selling various items from across Remnant. There were street performers showing their skills to the delight of the public, not to mention the variety of games and amusements that were set up all over the place.

"Well, what shall we do first?" Ruby asked her friends.

"Anyone up for some food? I'm sure Blake needs some since she missed breakfast and all." Yang replied.

"I'm alright if you guys wanna do something else." Blake said.

 ***RUMBLE* *GROAN***

Blake put a hand over her stomach in slight embarrassment. Her friends giving here a cocky look.

"I... guess it couldn't hurt to try a few stalls."

X was starting to follow his friends when he looked back and saw Penny watching something from a distance. Looking in the direction she was, X saw a theatre show, it seemed to be putting on a historical play.

"Why don't you guys go ahead? Me and Penny will meet you at the jousting arena." X said.

Taking a moment to wave them off, X and Penny made their way over to the show. Penny, being the curious girl she was, made her way towards the front, eager for a close up view and while X was not quite so curious as her, he felt he should sit with her anyway..

For a simple theatre group, it was a very well put together show. The costumes were outstanding, and the crew made use of fire semblance for the pyrotechnic effects. The production itself turned out to be a dramatisation of the climactic battle of the great war. X had heard a little about this, and how it led to the colour naming rule. Although the war was a proven fact, the stories of the battles were just legends. It was still interesting though.

X wasn't focused on the play though, it was Penny he was focused on. He was understandably overjoyed to see that Reploids were being brought back into the world, all be it they were still in their early phases. In addition, now they were away from the rest of their friends, X could ask a few questions.

"So Penny."

"Hmmm?" She responded, barely taking her eyes off he action on stage.

"You said only me and Ruby know about your secret. How exactly did she find out? How did you two become friends?"

Penny thought back to the day with joy.

"I hadn't actually intended it." She admitted. "I had met Ruby once before when she fought against Roman Torchwick but after that, my father told me not to get involved with them, he didn't say why."

"Heh! Guess that didn't last long."

"I did try though! I told Ruby about it and went on my way but she ended up chasing after me. That is when we were spotted by the guards who were meant to protect me."

"What happened?" X asked, eager to hear this story more than the one being acted out.

"Ruby misunderstood and thought they wanted to cause me harm so she tried carrying me away from them. Unfortunately, my metal components weigh a bit more than organic beings so she ended up losing balance. She fell into the road and an approaching truck was going to hit her!"

"I can tell it didn't though."

Penny nodded. "Although I had been told not to get involved, I couldn't just let her be hurt. I leapt in front of the truck and blocked it. However, it tore through some of the synthetic skin on my hands. Ruby saw the true me and I was afraid she would panic and tell everyone. The thing is though, she didn't care."

Penny thought back to the moment that she had been fearing most but had made her as happy as she could ever be. The moment she was accepted for what she was.

"Ruby didn't care that I was a robot. She told me that what I'm made of doesn't matter. She said it's my heart and soul that matters. I see she saw the same thing in you, friend X."

X was almost a little envious of Penny. Not for anything she had done though. It just saddened him that she was lucky enough to have been built in a world where people seemed accepting and tolerant of robots and Reploids. Had the world he had first awoken in been the same, he may never have had to fight, never have had to face the Mavericks.

Then again, it was those events that made him who he was and, strange as it may seem, those battles and losses helped him end up where he was now. In this brave new world with friends he never would have met. Thinking it over he realised that despite everything, if it meant being here now, he wouldn't change a thing.

Smiling to himself at this realisation, he was brought back to his senses by the audience clapping as the actors took a bow. Hurriedly, X applauded too (though he hadn't really been paying attention) as the people stood up to leave.

"That was most entertaining, friend X!" Penny said happily.

"Well, glad you enjoyed it. The rest of the gang should be finishing up soon, how about we head over and join them? Our little showdown will be happening soon, and I want to see a few more things before then." X replied happily, as she two headed off towards the food quarter, where no doubt their friends would be.

 _ **Another day, another chapter! Sorry if it took longer than expected, as I said, I am back to studying now, so I don't have the free time I used to!**_

 _ **So yes, before anyone asks. Bola and Klaymoor are just here for a cameo appearance. They are not part of the villains. Will you see more of them throughout the story? Maybe.**_

 _ **Review and share the story if you enjoyed it!**_

 _ **Until next time!**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	16. An Icebreaker Battle!

_**Welcome back guys! So, we all set for the duel between our heroes and the newcomers Bola and Klaymoor? Question is, who will represent them?**_

 _ **A couple more build up chapters before the big events start happening! Can't wait, can you? I know I can't!**_

 _ **For now, enjoy the next instalment!**_

 **City Plaza – Jousting Arena**

The jousting arena was packed, though not for it's original purpose. Although re-enacting the ancient sport was a popular event, word had spread quickly as to what was about to take place.

Children and grown ups, Faunus and Human alike were all crowding around the arena, eagerly awaiting the titanic duel that was about to take place. The Vytal Festival Tournament was still a few days away, this would make a nice appetiser for that event.

Our heroes had spent much of the time coming up to the duel deciding who should face their challengers. Although Nora had been eager to try her hand at it (since she had practically caused it to happen), they were still finalising who it would be.

"They seem pretty formidable." Ren said, observing Klaymoor as he warmed up by lifting an entire container of heavy armour over his head. "We all know that X is going to have to fight, question is who will fight with him?"

Weiss was annoyed at this revelation. "And why pray tell does he have to face them?"

"They did come here to face me specifically. I think it's only fair that I let them." X replied, though Weiss still seemed against the idea.

"Well, X is pretty strong, but we still shouldn't take any chances with them." Ren continued.

"We should send the most accomplished person into battle with him." Weiss said, hinting at herself some what.

The hint however, flew right over Jaune's head. "Guess it's settled then. Pyrrha, you're up!"

Weiss' jaw nearly hit the floor. How blind did that blonde buffoon have to be to not see that Weiss was ready and able to fight these two? She knew she could easily best them. Heck, in her mind, she could do it without any help at all!

As Pyrrha readied herself for battle, and her friends wished her good luck, Weiss simply sat and watched from a distance. Though she didn't show it, her anger was practically boiling over! First she had had to deal with Ruby being made team leader instead of her, she had gotten over that. Now, her was this upstart Reploid barging his way in, making her look like a complete amateur in front of the entire academy!

She was a Schnee, dammit! The Schnee were leaders and always had been! They were perfect, others followed them as they led both human and Faunus to glory! Yet here Weiss was, pushed back behind some tin can. She sat and tried to calm herself. She really hoped she could, else she might do something she would regret later.

Over the tanoy, the announcer spoke to the barely contained crowd in the Plaza.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! It's the moment you've been waiting for, it's time for our special event! A 2v2 match between Vale and Mistral!"

A roar from the audience.

"Representing Mistral, from Haven Academy: Bola Tehuelche and Klaymoor MacLeod!"

The audience cheered as the duo entered the arena. Klaymoor was focused on the opposite end of the arena, where his oppnents would soon enter. Bola on the other hand was waving to the crowd, and blowing a few kisses to the ladies watching.

"Representing Vale, from Haven Academy: X and Pyrrha Nikos!"

A significantly louder cheer from the crowd. Unsurprising since Pyrrha was a four time champion and X was well known across Remnant by now. The audience clearly saw the two as favourites.

This did not phase Klaymoor or Bola however as all four walked to the centre of the arena where they spoke to the referee.

"Okay. Standard match rules apply. You may use any techniques at your disposal, save for lethal blows. The match ends when one team has run out of aura. Once an opponent has exhausted their aura levels, you may not attack them and they must leave the field. Last team standing wins. Understand?"

All four gave a nod.

"May the best team win." Pyrrha said.

"Oh we plan too." Bola replied cockily.

"Alright then, to your marks, and good luck." the referee said before dismissing them

The two teams shook hands with each other. Klaymoor's grasp easily engulfing X and Pyrrha's hands. With the necessary formalities taken care off, they moved back to their ends of the arena.

"Combatant's, ready your weapons!"

X switched to his buster cannon, the mechanism clicking into place. Pyrrha drew Milo in sword form, though she made sure to keep the energy edge deactivated to prevent lethal damage.

Bola readied his sword and twirled some throwing blades in his hand. Klaymoor simply checked his arms. There were weapons in there, but he did not want to draw them yet, just make sure they were ready for use.

" _3..._

 _2..._

 _1..._

" _FIGHT!"_

(Insert music: Super Smash Bros. Brawl – Let's Brawl!)

X and Pyrrha charged forward, splitting so they could focus on one target each. X elected to go for Klaymoor, Pyrrha would handle Bola.

As Pyrrha drew closer, Bola refused to budge. He simply stood there, arms folded as the spartan approached. Pyrrha did not question it, she saw only an oppertunity to end this fight quickly. As soon as she was in range, she thrust Milo forward, a quick but efficient stab would render his aura drained for sure.

As Milo made contact however, Bola disappeared in a puff of white smoke. Pyrrha let her momentum carry her through, stopping just on the other side of where Bola had been. Confused, she turned to see Bola a few feet away from her. He gave a small wave as Pyrrha went for another strike.

This time she went for a spiraling slash. Again though, her blade met nothing as Bola performed the same trick again. She tried once more, to no avail. Frustrated, she glared daggers at Bola.

"I know you can hit like a truck, but you gotta land a hit first." He boasted. "Now, let's see if you can go defensive as well."

Immediatley after saying those words, Bola flung three throwing blades at Pyrrha, they spread out horizontally, covering a large portion of the arena. Pyrrha skillfully dodged between them.

Another two volleys were thrown. Pyrrha ducked under the first wave with ease. As the second wave approached, she raised her shield and let the middle blade bounce off it into the air. As it came back down, she hit it back at Bola with her shield. Bola tilted his head to the side as the balde whizzed past him.

"Not bad, time for to get a little more personal I think." he said as he readied his main blade.

X braced himself as Klaymoor stomped towards him. The very ground beneath his feet trembled as he marched forward.

"At last we meet on the field of battle. I've been looking forward to this, X. If you think I'm a pushover like the other students you've fought, then you've got another thing coming. All this body armour isn't just for show you know. Now come on! Give me your best shot!"

X decided to do just that. He opened fire with a wave of shots from his buster cannon. Only to have them leave a few burn marks and nothing more! It was just like the shiled that enemy in the forest used.

"My own personal design. A mix of that new Ceratanium you so kindly shared with the world and some of the toughest materials known to man or Faunus! You're little pellet gun won't get through!"

X continued his assault, charging up his buster as he kept up the rapid fire. When it was fully charged, he released it straight at Klaymoor. It hit him square in the chest, the towering figure doubling over as it hit. To X's shock however, he srood straight back up with a mocking laugh.

"Hahahaha! That almost tickled! Okay then, now it's my turn!"

Klaymoor retracted his left hand into his armour to reveal a buster cannon of his very own! Rather than shooting at X however, he aimed at a seemingly random location and fired out a small red orb. It began pulsating as it floated slightly above the ground. He continued to fire more of these orbs all around the arena. Satisfied with this, he then changed to a buster cannon and began to fire on X.

X didn't even need his dash boosters to outpace Klaymoor. The giant opponent was happy enough to stay in one spot and rotate to aim at X, though he failed to land any hits.

X smirked as he watched Klaymoor hopelessly try to hit him. That was until he turned to see where he was going and ran straight into one of the red orbs. As he drew close to it, it beeped rapidly.

 ***KABOOM** *

X had just managed to dash clear of the blast before it caused too much damage. Klaymoor gave another laugh as X recovered.

"How do you like my little friends? I knew you would out maneouver me, so I've taken the liberty of changing the arena to suit me more. Now then, dodge this!"

Klaymoor fired out four orbs of electrical energy that moved towards X. They moved slowly however and X was able to pass them with ease. He turned to see the orbs coming back at him again!

"Homing projectiles! Very clever Klaymoor." X said, slightly impressed as he continued to dodge the orbs.

The orbs then grouped up for another strike. X started to dash away from them, but straight towards Klaymoor! Klaymoor readied himself for a strike, but it never came. Instead, X dashed past him and then moved behind the giant opponent.

"What are you...OOF!" Klaymoor groaned as the energy balls hit him in quick succession. That was the problem with homing technology, the opponent could use it just as well as the attacker could.

"That's enough running around! Let's see how you handle this!" Klaymoor withdrew his hand cannon and reached for his back. He pulled on a handle and drew a blade of terrifying proportions!

"Guess that's why they call you Klaymoor." X pointed out the obvious link before drawing his sabre.

The two paced around each other in a small circle, their battle zone now defined by the mines that Klaymoor had placed down.

Klaymoor made a slow but powerful overhead swing that X easily dodged as Klaymoor's blade clattered on the ground. He followed this up with a powerful thrust of his blade, the point narrowly missing X's chest. He would have moved back further, but a mine beeping behind him forced X to change his mind.

Another slash from Klaymoor that X tried to parry with his sabre, but the strength of this man was immense. X's grip on the sabre was tight, but it still nearly flew out of his hand as Klaymoor hit it.

"Damnit, I can't fight this guy properly with these mines everywhere."

As fortune would have it however, Pyrrha had seen X's predicament during her battle and was think of a way to turn it to their advantage.

Her battle with Bola had been fairly even so far, surprisingly. Although Pyrrha had great skill and strength, Bola was by no means an easy opponent. He was certainly faster than her, and could use both ranged and melee attacks simultaniously.

Pyrrha went for another attack, slashing with Milo. Bola blocked with his throwing blades and countered with his main blade. It met Pyrrha's shield and the two broke off. As quickly as they had split, they clashed again, their two swords clanging off each other. As they recoiled, Bola threw a blade straight at Pyrrha's head. The spartan girl ducked and bashed Bola back with her shield.

Bola now started to apply pressure. He went for Pyrrha with a flurry of swift sword strikes. Pyrrha quickly switched her sword to it's spear mode and tried to keep her distance, parrying as many attacks as she could. Still she was forced backwards, moving closer to Klaymoor and X's position.

As they drew near, the mines started to beep faster once again. Pyrrha suddenly had an idea. Those mines were floating, they had to have some mechanical parts in them, most likely some kind of metal.

As Bola went for a finishing blow, Pyrrha slid underneath some of the mines, ending up in a spot between Bola and Klaymoor. She focused on the area around her, pinpointing the metallic mines loactions.

She corssed her arms over and her hands startewd to glow with black aura, as did the mines. As she felt her control of them all tighten, she brought them all towards herself. Klaymoor and Bola watched on in amazement.

Then, she threw her arms outwards, and the group of mines split into two. Thefirst headed straight for Bola. He threw some blades to detonate some of them, but he was forced to try and dodge the rest. Even with his smoke covering, he could not dodge them all. A mine hit him and he took it with a grunt of pain. The second one that hit sent him flying backwards against the edge of the arena.

The second group of mines went for Klaymoor. All hit him in quick succession, a flash of fire and smoke covering him from sight.

Pyrrha and X seemed confident, there were enough explosives there to wipe out a small army. They looked to the HUD and saw that Klaymoor's aura had dropped by...

...7%...

...how tough was this guy?

Bola looked to the HUD on the edge of the arena. His aura had tumbled significantly, and had started to flash red.

"Sorry Klaymoor, looks like you'll be taking those two on alone." Bola said as he made his way to the side of the arena. "Try not to embaress yourself."

Klaymoor gave a small growl at Bola. Before he turned to face his two opponents.

X stood ready to fight as Pyrrha joined up with him, the two ready to take on their giant foe.

"Let us end this." Pyrrha said.

"Gladly." Klaymoor relpied.

(Insert music: Pokemon X/Y Champion battle theme)

Klaymoor was now outnumbered and outmatched in pace, but that did not mean he was not a dangerous enemy. Pyrrha and X approached with slight trepidation. X was the first to strike, a wary, almost experimental thrust of his sabre. Klaymoor swung his own blade down on X's, forcing it to the ground. He then used the back of his other hand to swat X away. X landed on his back but quickly stood back up.

As Klaymoor dealt with X's strike, Pyrrha sweeped in behind and hit Klaymoor in the back of his legs twice with her spear. The blade clanged off Klaymoor's armour, though he still stumbled from the attack.

He then turned to try and rid himself of Pyrrha. Another slow but wide swing from his blade, giving an almighty roar of rage as he did so.

Pyrrha jumped and landed on top of the flat of Klaymoor's blade. As Klaymoor looked at her and then raised the blade back up, she leapt of it and over the top of Klaymoor. As she passed over him, she turned in the air and swung her spear at Klaymoor's head.

The hit connected on the back of his neck armour, sparks flying as a piece of his armour was knocked loose and clattered onto the arena floor.

"Such sloppy form for one so proud." Pyrrha taunted.

"RAAAAAAAAAGH!" Klaymoor raged as he swung wildly at Pyrrha. His attacks were stong, one good hit could end this fight but they were uncoordinated, the strikes of a mad beast. There was no strategy or logic behind them.

As Klaymoor locked blades with Pyrrha once again, X now outflanked Klaymoor. He slashed the giant in the side with his sabre, prompting a groan of pain from Klaymoor.

As he held a hand to his side to tend to the wound, Pyrrha forced his giant blade back off her weapon. The sword falling to Klaymoor's side. Pyrrha then twirled her spear and hit Klaymoor square in the face plate with the butt of her weapon. Klaymoor held a hand to his face as Pyrrha tried to move in for a follow up move.

As she did so however, Klaymoor grabbed her by her arm. Furiously, he threw her across the spartan girl landing with a clatter of her armour.

This was a problem, even if the two did outmatch Klaymoor in skill, the man had the endurance of a pack of Beowulves! It would only be a matter of time before X and Pyrrha became exhausted and made a mistake that would cost them the battle. They had to try and end this battle quickly.

As Pyrrha tried to get back up, Klaymoor raised his boot and tried to stamp down on her. She rolled away, Klaymoor still following her and trying to squash her into the dirt. Pyrrha then realised she had runout of space, she had dodged all the way to the arena side wall. With nowhere to go, she was easy prey for Klaymoor. With a fury, the giant man grabbed the spartan by her neck, his hand dwarfing her entire form.

X was rushing to Pyrrha's aid, but he had to move fast. The sheer force of Klaymoor tightening his grip was costing Pyrrha precious aura reserves.

He looked at Klaymoor. His back was towards X, the giant blissfully unaware of the danger, to focused on crushing the one who had been besting him. It was then that X saw the joint between the two armour halves. An indented line of thinner armour between the top and bottom of Klaymoor's defenseive attire.

X dashed forward, propelling himself with all his might. As he drew near Klaymoore, he raised his leg so that he would kick the target with the tip of his foot. The strike needed to be precise and focus all of it's momentum on that small weak spot.

"HEYAGH!" X shouted as he aimed his strike. The kick landed, and as it did so-

 ***CRACK** *

Klaymoor's eyes widened and his pupils shrunk significantly.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" he cried, dropping Pyrrha to the ground in the process.

Moving much more slowly than before, he stumbled around to face X, his breathing heavy and his free hand placed upon his back.

Pyrrha then got back up and tapped Klaymoor on his shoulder. Klaymoor turned his head to look at Pyrrha, who gave a small smile and wave. Then, as quick as lightning, she kicked her foot out and swept Klaymoor off his feet.

The giant fell onto his back with an impressive rumble, the ground around him shattering slightly.

Pyrrha and X stood over him, their weapons drawn at his face. Klaymoor was still breathing heavily, clearly in pain.

"Very well... I... I yield to you."

The audience practically exploded with cheers, applause and a few wolf whistles. That soon turned into chants.

" _PYRRHA! PYRRHA!"_

" _GO! GO! X!"_

" _PYRRHA! NIKOS!"_

" _X! X! X!"_

The two couldn't help but smile at each other before waving to the crowds and accepting their applause.

" _Your winners, of this fantastic duel: Pyrrha Nikos and X!"_

 **Jousting Arean – Dressing Room**

"That was so awesome you two!" Ruby squealed

"Very impressive." Ren added, though he was not as hyped up as Ruby was. Then again, few people could get as hyped up as Ruby.

Except maybe for Penny. "Congratulations are in order friend X!" The ginger chirpped as she hugged X tightly.

The rest of their friends added to the congratulations as Pyrrha and X freshened up from the fight. It had not been easy, that was for certain.

"If that was just a friendly duel, we had all best be ready for what the Vytal Tournament has in store for us." Pyrrha said.

"Are you kidding?" Yang laughed. "If they embaress themselves like that at the tournament, I don't think we have anything to worry about!"

"You can say that again." Bola said as he appeared behind Yang, causing the blonde to nearly jump out of her skin.

"That was a most impressive display ." Pyrrha said, sensing his frustrations.

"Hardly." Bola replied in a much darker voice than usual. "We were sloppy and overconfident. Not to mention that Klaymoor made an absolute fool of himself."

The mood in the room went from 100 to 0 in an instant. Bola sounded genuinely annoyed!

...

For about five seconds.

"Oh well, that's the way it goes I guess!" he said, back in his normal relaxed tone. "You did well out there, both of you. I can see why you're favourites in the tournament rankings."

"How is the big guy anyway?" Jaune asked.

"He'll be fine, you just popped a disc out of his back, the doctors are looking at him now. He should be getting it put back in right about now."

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" a pained voice came from down the corridor in one of the other rooms. The whole group cringed slightly at the sound.

"So, are you staying at Beacon for the tournament then?" Blake asked.

"We are actually, as soon as Klaymoor get's fixed up, we were going to head on over."

"We'll go with you if you want. Give you the tour and everything!" Yang offered.

"Really? Well that's mighty nice of you. Let me just see to the big guy and we'll be ready to go."

As the group headed out of the arena, Weiss merely watched on. She had been watching the whole time. Her jealousy was getting the best of her. She had been watching Xthe whole time, envious of how the crowd loved him. Most of them had left already, but a few stragglers were making their way to the entrance where she was sat, though they ignored her.

"Man, did you see that guy? He totally kicked their butts!"

Weiss looked away, trying to ignore the conversation.

"I know right? I bet he could beat anyone!"

"Even Pyrrha herself? Or Weiss Schnee? Dude, their the most experienced Hunters there are!"

Weiss gasped lightly upon hearing her name, looking over to the ones who were talking about her.

"Well, Pyrrha may put up a fight, but Weiss? She wouldn't stand a chance."

Weiss placed her hands over her face, her breathing was deep and angry. She didn't stand a chance? What did they know, they were just morons who didn't see what she was capable of!

But then, who would? All the spotlights were on X. People adored him, students and teachers alike. As long as he was there, Weiss would always be ranked below him.

Unless...

Unless she could prove it. Yes, that would be the only way. Weiss was lost in this tunnel vision. She didn't care what her friends thought, what the public thought. She needed to beat X. She needed to prove herself as a Schnee!

Calmly, with a mock contentedness, she stood up and moved over to the group.

"Oh X! Could I have a moment please?"

X watched the rest of his friends go on. Shrugging, he made his way over to Weiss. He could always catch up with the others later on.

"Not in here, come to the arena." Weiss said, as she went on ahead of the Reploid.

X walked into the now empty arena, the once roaring crowds now gone. Weiss had already gone on ahead and was standing on the other side.

"So what did you need to see me about Weiss? Is something wrong?" X asked, confused as to why the heiress was being so secretive.

"Something IS wrong, X. It's you..."

X was taken aback! "What... what do you mean?"

"You wouldn't understand! You don't know how much depends on my success! I am a Schnee, I have a reputation to live up to! If I fail, I disgrace my family name!"

Weiss drew her rapier. Switching it to the white dust crystal chamber, she stabbed it into the ground.

The effect was immediate and dramatic.

The whole arena was covered in a thick sheet of ice. It spread out across the floor before hitting the sides and forming walls that stretched upwards. The ice crackled as it formed together, the four walls joining int oa collosal roof foar above X's head.

The two were sealed in, no one could get in or out until Weiss dismissed her barrier of cold.

"People all over Remnant are hailing you as the greatest fighter who ever lived, the one who will save us all. As long as you are here, I'll never be able to live up to my family's legacy!"

X drew his buster. He knew what Weiss was gong to do and, much as it pained him, he would have to at least neutralise her.

"Ready yourself X. Prepare to feel the power of the most powerful Huntress that Remnant has ever seen!"

 _ **Oh hell yeah! Things are really getting frosty now!**_

 _ **So yeah, Weiss has finally let all of her jealousy out, and she is going to take on X in a titanic clash to prove she is worthy of the Schnee name!**_

 _ **What will X do?**_

 _ **Tune in next time to find out!**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	17. Calming the Storm

_**I'll not waste any time, I know what you're all here for. Let's get right to it!**_

 _ **After le reviews!**_

 _ **CasualFictionWriter23: Remember, Legends 2 never happened in this timeline. In this case, Bola and Klaymoor are humans who just so happen to be studying at Mistral!**_

 _ **Pea Brain Writer: Wow, that's a pretty detailed explanation. I never actually planned anything like that for X to be honest! What I was sort of thinking, is that X's ability to take abilities from living humans, is linked with the concept of auras. Aura is an extension of a persons soul, as such, X cannot just go around taking weapons willy nilly. In order to use a weapon, that persons soul must be linked and open to X's. Ruby was one of the first ones to meet X and she immediately trusted him. Therefore, her soul is open to him and he can use her ability. People who are enemies or do not trust him (like Weiss earlier on, or Cinder) cannot have their abilities taken from them.**_

 _ **BTW: Yes I really like the Kingdom hearts soundtrack!**_

The early evening sunset moved down over the skies of Remnant. Most of the daily festivities were finished for the day, making way instead for the clubs and bars that the nightlife of Vale would venture out to enjoy.

As the streets cleared temporarily, RWBY (minus the W), JNPR and Penny made their way back towards Beacon Academy, enjoying the company of their two new friends.

Klaymoor still walked slightly gingerly as he followed the rest of the group. He would be fine by the morning, but didn't want to risk any further damage until then.

Penny walked alongside the giant. They made for quite the odd pair, but Penny seemed hopeful that her good mood vibes would rub off onto Klaymoor. It seemed to work slightly. The giant was not ungrateful to have the cute ginger girl walk with him, though they said nothing. He would open up a bit, in due time, of that Penny was sure.

Bola meanwhile, was recounting tales of the intense lifestyle of Mistral. Although they too had cities like Vale that were well advanced, the primary method of training for a Hunter was one of raw survival. They mostly spent their times out in the swamps and marshes that Mistral was known for. Naturally, the Grimm had evolved to cope with the environment, meaning the Hunters there had to adapt too.

"Grim aren't the only problem there now y'know? We have a pretty large infestation of Reaverbots too." Bola explained.

Like the Grim, it seemed Reaverbots were made for the area in which they fought. Bola told them about his encounters with the many types. They tended to consist of small creatures that worked well in the undergrowth. Frongels, Inmiis, Jakkos and Bal Kacche Moths were but a few of the horrors he and Klaymoor had faced down.

"Survival in the swamps ain't easy. If it isn't the Reaverbots or Grimm, half the plant life will want you dead too! You need to know who your friends are and keep them close if you wanna make it out in one piece. Then again, I guess that counts for all Hunters."

The teams all agreed with his wise words.

"Speaking of friends. Anyone seen Weiss and X? They should have caught up by now." Yang pointed out.

As if on cue, there was a huge rumble from the jousting arena in the distance behind them. Turning at the sound, the whole group looked in concern.

"What is it?" Ruby asked. "The White Fang?"

"Could be a Grimm breach." Bola hypothesised. "The security systems are never 100% safe."

"No Grimm would make a ruckus that big without being spotted a mile away." Ren pointed out, eliminating that theory, to somewhat of a relief.

"Then what was it?" Jaune asked again.

Then, before their eyes, walls of ice began to form over the arena, sealing it off from the outside world. The few who were near the arena ran for their lives, screaming in terror.

"What the hell kind of man or beast can do that?" Klaymorr asked, slightly impressed at the sight.

Blake's eyes went wide and her blood ran cold. "Oh no..."

The rest of her friends soon clicked on, they knew who was capable of casting abilities like that tomb of ice. With every ounce of speed they could manage, they rushed back towards the arena. Ruby leading the charge with her semblance pushed to it's limit.

 **Inside the arena**

(Insert music: Xenoblade Chronicles – Tragic Decision)

X couldn't believe what was happening right now. He didn't want to believe it. Weiss, his own friend and ally (or so he had believed), wanted him dead? She was over reacting. She had to be!

"Weiss! This is insane! There is no reason for us to fight!" X shouted over to her. "We can work this all out! We ca- URGH!" X clasped his shoulder as a blast of burning fire from her revolver attachment hit him.

"You had your chance to back out. You could have just walked away. I didn't want it to come to this, but I can't let my family down! Prepare yourself X!"

X gave a grunt of frustration. His fist shaking and his teeth gritted together. Then, he stopped. He knew what he had to do, like it or not. He drew his sabre in one hand and readied his buster in the other.

"So be it then. If you are not going to back down, then I will bring you down." Weiss declared.

Weiss looked at him with slight surprise as she could almost swear she saw a tear in his eye.

"Weiss...please... don't make me do this..."

She shook herself out of that lapse in focus and raised her rapier to point straight at X. In the still silence of the cool, crystalline cage, the battle that neither had truly wanted began.

Weiss dashed straight at X with blinding speed, using a glyph beneath her feet to achieve almost instant top speed. Thrusting her rapier, she landed a clean hit on the side of X's chest. As the reploid stumbled slightly, she propelled herself skyward before rocketing downwards. She landed another thrust on X's back before touching down on the ground again.

Weiss then tried a quick slash to X's back again. However, X held his sabre in his backhand and moved his arm behind himself to block the strike. Weiss was still trying to force his guard to break so she could launch another volley. As she continued her efforts, X pulled his sabre back around, forcing Weiss's rapier to the side. With this small opening, X spun around with his buster drawn and fired a shot.

He was mere milliseconds too late however. Just before he fired the shot, Weiss had grabbed his cannon arm and forced the shot to miss her. She then threw X to the ground and stabbed downwards with her rapier, hoping to finish the fight quickly.

"GAAAAAAAGH!" X howled in pain as the rapier blade pierced the back of his armour slightly. Luckily, it was tough enough to protect his internal systems still, but it did go through the outer layer.

Weiss withdrew the blade for another attempt, but X quickly rolled onto his back and was forced to smack Weiss aside with a hit of his buster cannon.

X got back to his feet as Weiss quickly wiped a hand over her left eye where X had hit. A small trickle of blood was starting to drip down from the scar that she had. She stared at the blood in her open hand for a few seconds, before clasping the hand shut in anger.

"Weiss, please! This is insane! I don't want to do this!"

Weiss charged at X again, stopping just in front of the Hunter before hitting him with three successive quick thrusts, the last of which he blocked. She then started to perform a number of lightning fast slashes on X. All, save for one or two managed to hit their target. To finish her combo, she switched her revolver chamber to red dust, the blade glowing with power. Squeezing the trigger, she fired a shot that hit X dead centre before exploding spectacularly.

As the cloud of smoke rose and the fire started to die away, X was thrown from the blast and smashed into the ice wall that Weiss had made. It cracked and cracked slightly, a few small fragments falling off as X fell onto his hands and knees. Weiss walked up to him, watching as the legendary reploid tried to get back up.

"You're not going all out, X." Weiss said.

X looked at her with surprise. "What did you expect? I'm not going to fight you with all I've got. We're allies, Weiss! What's gotten into you?"

Weiss did not answer his query. "Are you going to fight me, or not?"

X stared at her in disbelief, before lowering and shaking his head. "You're my friend, Weiss. I don't want to fight you, not like this."

Weiss almost seemed to loosen up a bit for a second. Her grip lightened and her venomous stare seemed to show a slight look of sorrow. It quickly changed back though, and the air of jealousy and anger came back.

"Then you will die." Weiss said softly.

With that, she thrust her blade towards X's chest, with the intent of ending this battle.

She was surprised however, to find that X had actually caught her rapier mid-thrust, his hand holding the blade about halfway down.

"I don't WANT to fight you Weiss. But if I have to, then I will!" X then threw Weiss back by the rapier, the heiress landing safely a fair distance from him.

X stood up and pressed a small holographic button on his left wrist. A compartment opened on his left arm and he took out two small objects. He looked at them in his hand before addressing Weiss.

"Your sister gave me these before I left for Beacon. She found them in the armoury of Neo Arcadia, and told me to only use them if I had to. Seeing where we are now, I think this means it's okay to bring them out."

X held the objects out to show Weiss. They were computer chips, one blue with an H on it and a red one with an I on it.

X brought up his buster cannon and two small slots appeared in it, the exact size of the chips. He held up one of the chips above his head.

"Armour mode: Icarus!" he shouted, clicking the chip into one of the slots on his buster. As soon as he did, a burning red aura appeared around him. The lights on his armour pulsated with the same red glow and his eyes did the same thing.

Straight after, he took the other chip. "Armour mode: Hermes!" Placing the second chip in, the two auras he would have had merged together, making a purple aura.

Weiss could feel the new power radiating from X, though she tried not to let it affect her. X simply stood, waiting for Weiss' next move.

(Insert music: Kingdom Hearts 2.5 – Rage Awakened)

Weiss readied herself for another fast strike, using the glyphs once more to reach X with all haste. Again, she thrust her weapon forward, noting it's effectiveness last time. This time however, she hit nothing.

Looking behind her with surprise, she saw X just standing, staring at her. She tried once more to hit him. In the blink of an eye, X had moved places, almost like he had teleported! In the side of her vision though, Weiss could see some dissipating trails of X's dash. But, how was it that fast?

Weiss ran up just in front of X and stabbed at him. X quickly leaned to the side, and her blade met thin air. This was ridiculous! No one could dodge that fast! Frustrated, she tried again, this time aiming for X's head. He leaned back and allowed the blade to pass over him, before moving back up and punching Weiss in the gut.

Before it hit, she noticed his arm glow red for a second, maybe that explained why it felt like an Ursa had just hit her! Weiss doubled over in sudden pain. X then back flipped, kicking Weiss square in the jaw as he did so. The heiress was sent skyward before hitting the floor.

Enraged, Weiss pushed herself back up. She switched her dust chamber to the yellow dust setting and aimed for the Hunter. Her shots would be much faster now, due to being imbued with lightning from the dust.

Weiss opened fire rapidly, each shot like a small lightning bolt, homing in on their target. X saw the projectiles approaching and dashed out of the way of the first, letting it explode harmlessly on the ground nearby. Two more came towards him. Again, X dashed away from the first, but the second was sure to hit him! Calmly, X aimed his buster and fired a single shot. His shot was true as it hit Weiss' projectile and detonated it before it could even reach him.

Weiss held the trigger of her blade down, allowing the weapon to charge up. Aiming and releasing, she fired out a large, fast moving blast of electrical energy, the shot crackling with power as it moved forwards.

X drew his sabre. As the shot came up to him, he swung the blade upwards. The shot passed by him, as it split straight down the middle.

The girl could not believe what she was seeing as X stood there, still holding the sabre aloft as the two split shots exploded behind him. X then swung his blade down, forcefully. As he did so, the blade fired out a wave of green energy, at least twice Weiss' height!

Weiss raised her guard in preparation for the attack. She strained and grunted as the wave hit her blade. With determination however, she was able to hold it back, before putting all of her might into a counter swing, that sent the wave straight back at X.

Panting heavily, Weiss watched the return shot head towards her target. She was not ready for what X did next thought. While her counter had taken so much out of her, X simply swung the blade sideways, making a horizontal energy shot fire out. It hit the vertical one and sent both flying back towards Weiss!

Weiss braced herself to block again, but she was no match for two of the shots at the same time. The two hit her and carried her with them into the side wall, leaving a massive crater in the ice. Weiss tried to catch her breath as she saw X simply walk over to her.

"What is it going to take to beat you?" Weiss though to herself.

Truth be told, she was running out of options now. Her body felt weak as her aura ran low. Weiss gathered what little energy she had left into one final attack, this was it. All or nothing.

With a furious cry, Weiss cast a glyph around where X stood. He was unable to move, the glyph creating a barrier to block his path. Weiss then started to point her blade at specific locations around X. Each time she did so, a new glyph appeared. She did this seven times in all before placing one final glyph directly in front of herself.

"Now you'll see!" she shouted. "You will see what my power truly is!"

As those words left her lips, Weiss stabbed the glyph with her rapier. Her eyes closed and her look one of concentration. Out of each of the glyphs, X could see something forming, something being summoned.

He realised they were weapons. The weapons his friends used! Ruby's scythe, Yang's gauntlets, Blake's Katanas, even the weapons from JNPR! Jaune's sword, Nora's hammer, Ren's handgun blades and Pyrrha's sword!

Weiss opened her eyes to take one last look at X, who still seemed unphased by this revelation.

"Goodbye, X!" Weiss said, as she twisted her rapier into the glyph.

On cue, all of the summoned weapons began to strike X with both their ranged and melee attacks. Nora's was the first to hit with it's grenade launcher form, creating pink smoke over X's form, rendering Weiss unable to see him. She could still see the weapons attacking though.

As the clatters and shots continued, Weiss withdrew her rapier, and the glyphs and weapons disappeared. The smoke started to fall away as Weiss walked up to see the body of her fallen opponent.

As the smoke finally cleared, she froze. Her pupils shrunk down and her breath left her. There, standing tall in the centre of the arena, without a scratch... was X.

"H...how?" Weiss whispered.

X said nothing. Slowly, he raised his buster above his head, and began charging it up.

At the end of the barrel of his buster, a ball of energy began to form. It started small, but continued to grow, until it was about the size of X himself!

Weiss didn't know what to do. She had tried her best, used up almost all her power. Yet, here he stood, undamaged by the heiress.

As X finished charging the shot, he brought his sabre up once more. He slashed the energy ball several times with the sabre, leaving hundreds of glowing hot gash lines upon it.

Then he fired.

Instead of the energy sphere moving as one large shot, the cuts made it split into several smaller energy shots. All of them made their way towards Weiss' location. Weiss deflected the first few on instinct with her blade, before one hit her on the shoulder. The shots were starting to swirl around her, each waiting for a turn to home in on her.

Another hit her in the back, causing her to stumble forward. She blocked another one heading for her face, but one more hit the girl in the gut, knocking her to her knees.

The final blow came, X's shots all surrounded Weiss. Then they converged, all at once in one humongous explosion.

The impact smoke blew away, leaving X with the sight he hadn't wanted to see. Weiss was lying on the ground, her aura reserves incredibly low. He hadn't destroyed Weiss, that was never his intention. What he had destroyed though, was her pride.

(Insert music: Dark Cloud – Memories)

Weiss let the tears that had built up roll down her cheeks. She let the sobs that she would keep hidden away loose. It didn't matter now anyway.

Weiss had let her pride get the better of her. She had risked it all on trying to keep it, yet now she had lost that and so much more. How could she go back to her friends now? They would despise her, fighting X over what they would call a pathetic reason.

Weiss felt lower than low. She had nothing to go back to. Her friends would never want to look at her again. The school might forgive her, let her go back to studying, but how could she? The prospect of four years of torment and ridicule from her peers was too much for the defeated girl to even think about.

She couldn't even go back home now. She would have to face the wrath of her own family. Not just for being humiliated at Beacon, but for bringing the name and meaning of a Schnee to ruin.

So that was why she sobbed. She didn't care if it seemed weak or pathetic, she would allow herself this moment of weakness if nothing else before her life of shame.

At least that is what she thought.

She looked up as X stood above her, his aura dismissed as he placed the chips back into their storage area. Weiss wasn't sure what she had expected. Maybe mockery, insults, anger? But she could see from X's face that, though he had won, it was a victory he took no joy in. His face was just as sorrowful and forlorn as hers.

Weiss still expected him to have a go at her, and she spoke as such. "Come to gloat, have you?"

"I'm not here to gloat." X said, straight and to the point. "I'm here for answers. I just want to know why. Why fight me?"

Weiss could see from his expression that his request was sincere. Weiss looked back down at the ground, readying herself to explain her actions.

"It sounds so stupid." she began. "And I know it is to any regular person. But my family places its reputation above all else. From the very first days of the Schnee legacy, we have been told that we must be perfect. We must excel at everything from business and knowledge, to combat and leadership. Whatever we do, is seen by all and judged by them."

X sighed deeply. He knew Weiss was stubborn, but to have all that put on you from your own family? It wasn't right.

"When you came to Beacon, I knew what my father would expect of me. He would just see this as another challenge for his daughter. Another way to boast the name of both the Schnee line, and of himself."

X could see Weiss was getting worked up again, she was getting angry. Was it because of X himself or... something else?

"So you fought me just to appease your family?" X asked in layman's terms.

"I never wanted to..."

Those were the words that X heard most clearly, and what made sure that the decision he was going to make here was the right one.

Weiss was starting to sob again as she spoke. "I don't want to have to fight for my family just to recognise me. It's not right, it's not a privilege or an honour."

She threw her rapier away from herself, clattering it onto the ground beneath her as tears clouded her vision.

"I HATE IT!" she practically screamed.

X simply watched on as Weiss poured out her story. He was not going to let her keep this rage penned in any longer. Heck, even he was starting to feel angry at her father for putting her through this.

"I hate it, and I hate him for making me do it... but what choice do I have?"

She looked back to X who met her gaze, and said the words that she had been waiting for someone to say to her.

"You always have a choice, Weiss. From as far back as I can remember, I've been fighting. I've fought countless enemies. Some knew they were doing wrong, others believed they were doing what was right. But I never fought them because someone told me to."

Weiss watched him intensely, glued to his every word.

"The only reason I fought, is because I believed. Everything that I fought for is something that I believed was right. If you don't believe in what your father is doing, then you need to make the choice. You can go back, try to have him forgive you and continue to try and meet his ridiculous standards..."

X held out a hand to Weiss.

"...or you can leave him behind. You can leave those stupid traditions and worthless challenges behind, and fight for something worthwhile."

The walls that Weiss had made started to crumble, chips of ice falling off them and vanishing into white dust.

"Something that you believe in."

As soon as X said that, the walls shattered completely, their powdery remains being carried away by the wind.

Weiss placed her hand into X's as he gently pulled her to her feet. The two looked at each for a minute. Weiss with a look of shock and relief, while X simply smiled kindly. As they loosened their grip, X started to make his way to the exit.

"X."

The Reploid turned around to hear what Weiss had to say, only to be met with a something he hadn't expected from Weiss.

A simple hug. A hug that meant so much to X. It meant she had forgiven him, that they were no longer enemies. But most of all, it was hug that said exactly what Weiss softly said to him.

"Thank you."

It was a hug that meant she was free, no longer held by her family or their ideals.

"But if you tell anyone about this, I will have to tear you apart wire by wire."

X smiled and scratched the back of his head. Then quickly lost the smile once he realised she was being serious.

"Weiss! X!" Ruby shouted over to duo, as she and their friends ran up to them, all panting for breath. The exceptions being Bola and Klaymoor, who promptly appeared in a puff of Bola's smoke.

"What the hell happened there? What was with the giant ice sculpture thingie?" Yang blurted out.

Weiss smiled mockingly. "Once again Yang, your grasp on the English language is immaculate."

"Whatever it was, it certainly hasn't changed you, Ice Queen."

"Oh I think it has." Weiss smiled back at her.

"What even did happen?" Ren asked.

"Well, you see... um..." X fumbled his words, trying to think of a way out of this line of conversation when Klaymoor stood in the middle of the group.

"It doesn't matter." He boomed. "Some things are best left unspoken about."

"For now at least." Weiss finished.

"Agreed." Bola said. "Now where we? Oh yes, that tour you were going to give us!"

With that, the group walked off towards Beacon, with their friendship as strong as ever, and a future that looked ever brighter, for Weiss Schnee.

(Insert music: Megaman X7 - Black Plotting)

 **? - Hidden Base**

 ***CRASH** *

Another rather expensive piece of equipment felt the burning wrath of Cinder Fall's rage. The area where she had cut it open with her blade glowed red hot and molten metal dripped from it onto the floor. Still not satisfied, she continued to slash right through onto the walls themselves, burning hot gashes cut into the concrete as she panted out of frustration.

Some of the White Fang members, who had been unfortunate enough to be selected as bodyguards, watched on in shock and fear that Cinder might turn her fury upon them!

Vile simply rested against another wall, leaning back into it with his arms folded and one foot pressed up against it, waiting patiently. Though it wasn't normally his forte, waiting for Cinder to get all her anger out was good, it made her much easier to deal with. Not to mention use of her powers helped her control of them. This anger she felt only served to make her stronger.

She soon stopped, disintegrating her blade to ashes that scattered around the room before flowing back into her glowing tattoos. Yeah, they were not just for decoration.

"Feel better?" Vile asked sarcastically.

The woman glared at him, eyes still burning slightly. "Hardly. Just count yourself lucky my power has subsided to a level where it cannot harm you."

Dismissing her weapons, Cinder clicked her fingers. Three White Fang members approached. Two placed down a Shoji screen, while the other carried a new outfit for Cinder. Simple grey combat trousers, a beige sleeveless jacket, brown gauntlets, a white sarashi and a pauldron.

Vile continued the conversation as Cinder changed. Unlike those humans, he did not feel lust or any such pathetic emotion, so Cinder undressing didn't phase him.

"You wouldn't harm me anyway, doll face. You know you stand no chance of defeating X and his friends without me, especially now they have the new tech from Schnee."

Much as Cinder hated to admit to a weakness, she needed Vile's knowledge and abilities if she wanted her plans to succeed. She was not going to be seen as some underling however, quickly turning the argument against Vile.

"Some times I wonder why I am even keeping you around. After all, that display against X the last time you met was laughable." she smirked, Vile clenching his fist in subdued anger.

"Maybe I underestimated him a bit. I certainly didn't know he was capable of copying human powers now. But that in itself is a reason for you to keep me around, Cindy. I outmatch every fighter you have in this whole operation. If they can't beat me, what chance do you think they stand against them?"

Cinder lost that smirk pretty quickly upon hearing the harsh truth.

"It doesn't matter, our plan is still in motion. Everything is in place. All we have to do, is wait until the festival starts. By then we should have enough forces mustered to quell any resistance the kingdoms can put up. Until then I suggest you work on your skills Vile. Wouldn't want to have to sell you for scrap when this is all over."

Cinder finished changing and passed her dress to one of the White Fang members. She then headed off towards the hangar of the base.

"Come on Neo, we can't keep our team mates waiting."

Neo too, had changed outfits. Hers looked a bit like a maid's outfit. A black, sleeveless blouse with various white frills and bows upon it. Her hair was dyed black to match and was done up into two long pigtails. Her eye colour too had changed to a brilliant green colour.

Neo started to follow on. She stopped, looking at Vile who gave a small nod in her direction. As Neo moved on, a twisted smile grew upon her face.

Vile watched them walk off, before giving a small, yet evil laugh.

 _ **So there we have it, X and Weiss are finally at peace with each other, and it looks like the tournament can go ahead with no problems!**_

 _ **Well... except for Vile and Cinder, but you'll have to wait until next time to find out more about that!**_

 _ **Review and Share guys**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	18. The Festival Begins

_**Welcome back guys! Before we begin, let me set the record straight. When I planned this story out, RWBY season 3 was underway. As a result, I did not intend to include any cannon events of season 4.**_

 _ **But looking back on it, there will be very few cannon links to season 3 either. Sure we will have the tournament and stuff, but all that stuff about the Fall Maiden? Forget it, it just doesn't tie in well.**_

 _ **BTW, saw volume 4 episode 1. I REMEMBER WHY I LIKE THIS SHOW AGAIN! But we shall forever remember best girl.**_

…

 _ **What?**_

…

 _ **Yes Pyrrha was my best girl!**_

…

 _ **I have a thing for red heads ok? Sue me!**_

 _ **Also, lots of references to stuff I like in this chapter!**_

 _ **That's all for now, enjoy the next chapter!**_

The Vytal Festival Tournament. One of the most ferocious competitions on Remnant. A true test of a Hunter's strength, skill and powers. To compete at such a level, you must be among the finest the academies have to offer. One mistake will cost you the match, and possibly your reputation.

The cheering that rocked the coliseum, was a clear indicator of the ability required to even think about partaking in the tournament. What mighty warriors have just one their match? Who is it that is basking in the crowd's adoration? What amazing fighting prowess did they show?

None, as it turned out.

The cheering right now was coming as a result of Sun and Neptune's (admittedly) impressive dance moves, following their more comedic victory over team NDGO.

Ruby leaned back in her seat. "Phew! That was so close!"

"Looks like the dorks made it to the next round!" Yang added.

Blake looked back down to the two dancing fools in the arena. Sun pointing her out with a wink. Blake couldn't help but go a bit red.

"Emphasis on dork." She added, trying to save face as she looked the other way.

No, she didn't like him that way, but she wouldn't deny herself feeling a bit flattered that Sun had pointed to her out of all the others in the arena.

 _ **(EMERGENCY AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, feel free to get out the torches and pitchforks, I am denying the cannon ship of Blake and Sun. Though I do agree they would work well in the actual series, I have other plans for this story! Sorry guys!)**_

So the tournament was well under way, and what a set of first rounds it had been! Teamm SSSN had already taken out NDGO. JNPR had destroyed team BRNZ despite some, shall we say, communication issues.

Then there was that other team: CMNE, also known as 'Carmine'. They had absolutely obliterated their opposing team, so much so that the referees were wondering if half of their moves were legal! Particularly that stomp to the face of an opponent by a girl named 'Noire'.

Alas, all good things must come to an end. SSSN vs NDGO was the last scheduled first round match of the day. A lot of people already knew this and were starting to make their way towards the exit.

"Come on, let's go congratulate Sun and Mercury!" Yang suggested. As they did so however, they noticed several audience members heading back to their seats. The girls were confused, the programme for today was over, wasn't it?

Then an announcement came from Professor Port and Professor Oobleck over the commentary system.

" _Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our matches for the official tournament today. However, we have a surprise for all of you!"_

Oobleck continued as everyone else looked in excitement. The arena was changing back to it's standard format as Neptune and Sun left the arena, still waving to the crowds.

" _Yes indeed. There were a large number of competitive students this year, but only so many can make the grade. As such, we have organised 'The Belt of Champions!_

A hologram appeared in the arena, it was showing a large belt with the buckle in the shape of a coat of arms. The coat of arms consisted of the symbols of the four countries' academies, along with two crossed blades in the middle of them.

" _In order to give a true challenge, our judges have chosen one student from each academy to fight against each other in a massive free for all!"_

The students in the arena shouted their approval.

" _The winner, will take home this glorious prize: The Belt of Champions! They will hold onto this for as long as they can. The catch is that they must accept any and all challengers who would dare take their prize from them!"_

" _Quite right Oobleck! But before anyone can take it, we need to find someone worthy to give it too! On that note, let me introduce our competitors!"_

The audience was ecstatic! A royal rumble for a unique prize! Who would be taking part?

"Hey guys, we miss much?" Jaune asked, as he and his team sat with RWBY.

"Not really, they were just explaining the rulesfor the Belt of Champions." Ruby answered.

"Believe me, we heard it from outside the ground." Ren said, rubbing his ear.

"Quiet down you guys! They're showing us the fighters now!" Nora squealed, practically on the edge of her seat.

(Insert music: Robot Wars – Entering the Arena)

" _From Atlas Academy: Dell Conagher."_

Through the smoke at one corner of the arena, the student walked in. The crowd cheered him on as he did so, though he only waved occasionally, seemingly lost in his focus. He wore a simple red under shirt and over the top, a pair of heavy, neutral coloured overalls. On his head was a white ten gallon hat, and one of his hands had a yellow, industrial rubber glove on it.

" _Dell Conagher is one of, if not THE most brilliant mind in Atlas Academy right now! He is a mechanical genius, who uses his semblance in conjunction with his knowledge to create and control terrifying contraptions to fight for him! Though he is no slouch on his own, he does prefer to keep at a distance in the fighting!_

The teams nodded in respect as they applauded the competitor before the next was announced.

" _From Haven Academy in Mistral: Slark Nightcrawler."_

A boy leapt from the smoke, leaving a small trail of smoke behind him that quickly vanished. He wore plain jeans and a black hoodie that he kept up at all times. His eyes were a piercing yellow colour and darted around the arena constantly, as if the boy was being hunted.

"What's his problem?" Yang asked.

" _It's lucky we found Slark so we could ask him to come here, because few other people can! Slark Nightcrawler is a master of stealth. He uses his dagger to quickly take down opponents, or can silently hit them from afar with a silenced pistol! If you catch him in the open, you may stand a chance... you have to catch him first though!"_

"He looks pretty mean, he may be tough to beat!" Nora said.

"Stealth is often an effective tactic in a chaotic battle such as this one." Pyrrha imparted her knowledge upon the teams, who all agreed with her.

" _From Shade Academy in Vacuo: Mako Rutlegde."_

The arena floor shook as the next competitor charged into the arena. He was a mammoth of a student! Laughing with a mix of excitement and anticipation in a deep voice. He then raised his hands and gave a battle cry to hype up the crowd.

" _If you can get past the Grimm in Vacuo, you are considered tough. Get past Mako Rutledge, and you'll be considered a hero! Mako, also known as Roadhog among his peers, is quite possibly the strongest student in the four kingdoms. Physically anyway. His semblance allows him to activate a rage powerup that boosts his speed and strength tenfold! If you see the Roadhog, you better take a detour!"_

Roadhog was intimidating to say the least. He was big, but it was all muscle! Most of which was on show due to his attire. He wore an unzipped boiler suit that only covered his lower half. His top half had two armour pieces coming down from his shoulders. The right piece had a shoulder pad with metal spikes sticking out of it. He also wore gauntlets with knuckle dusters on them. Most noticeable of all though, was his mask. A full face gas mask that obstructed any view of his facial features, and muffled his voice. He carried a large hook and chain in his right hand and was tossing it like a plaything.

"You thought Slark was bad, I don't wanna even think about facing that guy!" Jaune said, cowering slightly.

"Hey, I just realised." Ruby said. "Has anyone seen-"

" _From Beacon Academy in Vale: X."_

"Welp, that answers my question." Ruby chuckled, as her friends all stood up, mouths agape as X entered the arena.

"He's going to fight all of them?" Yang cried in disbelief.

" _Despite being in the academy for only a few weeks, X's reputation is legendary already! Thought to be the last of the ancient Reploid race, X is able to use his copy ability to mimic other peoples powers! Even without that though, his X Buster and Z Sabre will make short work of any foe who dares cross his path. X is quite friendly by nature, but in the arena, he is a force to be reckoned with!"_

With the introductions finished, the competitors readied themselves for the fight. Dell was checking something under his glove and adjusting his hat. Slark meanwhile was picking away at his dagger edge, watching his opponents intently. Roadhog was still show boating and X checked his buster before waving to the crowd.

The arena holograms that normally chose the environment spun as they usually did. This time however, they all stopped on question marks.

" _In order to make the match a little more interesting, we have allowed the competitors to choose an environmental effect to take place in the arena! They can activate it whenever they choose, but it will only last for a short time, and can only be used once!"_

"Sweet, I love it when the rules change!" Yang pumped her fist in excitement."

" _Combatants ready!_

 _3..._

 _2..._

 _1..._

 _FIGHT!"_

The klaxon sounded, and the battle began!

(Insert music: Robot Wars – Rock theme)

Slark was the first to run in, making a beeline for X. He knew full well that he X needed to be taken out first, before his own aura levels dropped too low. X aimed his buster and tried to hit Slark before he could reach the legendary Hunter. Slark was quick and nimble however, rolling and diving all over the place as he scampered along the ground.

Slark leapt skyward and readied his dagger to plunge into X. As he was about to land, X braced himself.

To his surprise however, Slark was pulled away from him, disappearing from X's vision off to the right side of the arena. In the distance, X was sure he heard someone shout out: "Get over here!"

Slark landed on the floor steadily before seeing Roadhog's hook retract from him and back to the wielder. Slark gave Roadhog a glare with his bright yellow eyes as the giant student gave a hearty chuckle. Slark gave a low growl, before throwing himself at Roadhog.

X watched on, perfectly happy to let the two duke it out. It meant they would be weaker when they sorted it all out. Then he remembered there was another fighter, who just so happened to be walking up behind the Beacon student.

"You 'n me, partner. Let's do this." Dell said in a thick Texan accent.

As he said this, Dell pulled off his rubber glove to reveal a mechanical hand! X had to admit, he wasn't ready for that. He also wasn't ready for Dell's arena choice. Signalling to the referee that he wished to activate, the holographic banners started to spin. They stopped on a picture of a pile of scrap metal.

 _ARENA: SCRAPYARD_

The floor on one quarter of the arena started to open up and a new arena section arose. This one consisted of huge piles of scrap metal from all sorts of machines. In addition, there was also a large industrial crane, though no one piloted it.

It was at this point that Roadhog and Slark noticed they were on the arena part that had changed. The two tried to keep their balance as they rose up, standing atop the mountain of metal. The two peered down the slope at the arena below before looking at each other. Slark smiled a toothy grin before digging Roadhog in the face, forcing the giant to drop his target.

Slark then started to run down the mountain of scrap, intent on reaching he other combatants. Then he heard a rumbling behind him, and looked back to see Roadhog sliding down on a large piece of sheet metal! Roadhog gave him a jokey wave which Slark ignored.

As the two reached the bottom and hit the arena floor again, the joined X in surrounding Dell, who they knew was up to something.

Dell's robotic hand started to glow with a green, toxic looking aura. Taking a moment to look at it and appreciate the power, Dell then threw a punch not at his opponents, but at the scrap pile itself.

X, Roadhog and Slark were bewildered. "He does know we aren't standing over there, right?" Roadhog asked.

Suddenly, there we small clanks from the scrap pile. At first only a few, then some more, yet more! All growing louder and louder.

"Come on fellas!" Dell called back to seemingly no one.

Then, a hand shot out! A mechanical hand, rusted and creaky, shot forth from the scrap pile and pushed itself up. A scrap robot soldier. Various pieces hung and drooped from every part of it's being.

Another arose, followed by yet more of the surprise strike force. They wielded any weapons they could muster. Tyre irons, and golf clubs for blades. Sections of corrugated roof for shields, and old industrial tools for ranged combat such as nail guns!

The bodged up army gathered around their summoner, who was giving a sly grin at his handiwork.

"Get 'em boys!" Dell commanded.

As soon as the order was given, the makeshift unit charged at the other competitors, their weapons brandished. The result was a temporary truce between X, Slark and Roadhog. The trio now focused on destroying the assortment of warriors they were now faced with. As it turned out, they machines were about as sturdy as one can expect scrap metal to be! A few buster shots or a quick slash from a blade were enough to fell them, leaving only piles of junk on the ground.

" _Incredible! The units he has summoned may be junk, but Dell himself is anything but that! I haven't seen such a semblance before!"_ Oobleck commented, practically on the edge of his seat.

As the number of enemies grew though, Slark noticed Dell running towards the largest scrap pile, although he was unable to give chase.

Dell reached his objective and once again drove his fist into the pile. This time he kept it there though as the rumbling started again. Then, the pile started to collapse in on itself, slowly sinking down to a lower level. As it fell down however, the audience was treated to a magnificent sight.

With a rusted head and two glowing yellow eyes, a giant mechanical behemoth arose from the pile. It stood at least five times the height of Roadhog, who was the tallest fighter in the arena! It was armed with a massive club like weapon on one arm, and a three pronged crane claw on the other.

As soon as it appeared, the other junk soldiers collapsed into small piles of metal, allowing X, Slark and Roadhog to face their new foe. Dell stood beside the giant, patting his new creation lovingly.

"Took me a hell of a lot of practice to learn to build this beauty! It's not her first time in use so, go nuts!"

The titan was first to strike, hitting the trio while they were still grasping their new situation. Swinging the club overhead, it smashed into the arena floor, the shock wave sending X and Slark flying some distance away.

Roadhog, being the brute he was, was able to withstand the impact. Seeing this, the junk titan swung again with the club, keeping it low and letting it drag along the ground. Sparks and bits of debris were torn up from the arena as the massive weight headed towards Roadhog.

Roadhog punched his palm, and the eye parts of his mask began to glow bright red. As the club smashed into him, Roadhog opened his arms to grab it. The force made him skid along the ground slightly before he brought it to a halt.

The titan was confused, then, without warning it found it's arm being lifted up by Roadhog! His eyes were fully red and steam came from the vents on his gas mask. With an amplified voice, Roadhog shouted his semblance activation.

"GOING WHOLE HOOOOOOOOOOG!"

With the strength of an army now at his fingertips, Roadhog pushed the club away from himself, forcing the titan to stumble backwards. As it recovered, Roadhog came charging towards it before rugby tackling into it's left leg. He clasped the metallic appendage with a vice like grip before digging his feet in and pushing back The titan wobbled once more before losing balance and falling onto it's back.

"Dagnabit dammit!" Dell cursed. "Well, guess we gotta do this the ol' fashioned way."

Dell then switched his robotic hand to ranged mode. The fingers converted into a revolver chamber, save for one which extended outwards to form the barrel and the thumb that moved back to create the hammer at the top.

Slark drew his dagger, ready to strike but it was shot out of his hand almost instantly. The small blade clattered to the ground some feet away from him as Dell smirked, his free hand hovering above the hammer.

"Not fast enough! Not by a damn sight!"

Slark gave a low growl, before his look of anger turned to one of confidence. Dell and X watched his every move, they knew how slippery Slark could be.

The stealthy student clicked his fingers, and the arena board began to spin again. This time, it stopped on an image of the moon, with several clouds around it.

 _ARENA: MIDNIGHT_

What was left of the scrap pile disappeared into the floor, leaving a clean arena space once again. Then, without warning, a large arena light shut off with a loud thudding sound. Another then followed, and another, circling right around the arena until it was left in total darkness.

"Hey! I can't see anything!" Ruby said to... one of her friends, she couldn't quite tell who.

"Relax, the audience cameras will come on in a second." Weiss calmly spoke.

"Um, where did Jaune go?" Pyrrha asked, slightly concerned.

"Oh right, we sent him to get the snacks. He should be back in a moment." Ruby answered.

On cue, there was a clattering sound from the steps to their seats, followed by an annoyed grunt of slight pain.

"Ow." Jaune groaned. "There goes the food."

"NOOOOO! My pancakes!" Nora yelled, over dramatically as small unshed tears welled up in here eyes.

In front of the audience, who were just as blind as the competitors now, a large screen showed up with night vision cameras on it, bathing the audiences faces in a green glow, and allowing Jaune to find his seat again. He dusted himself down before sitting next to Pyrrha again.

"What did I miss?" he asked.

"Slark's activated his arena change. That means just Roadhog and X can use theirs now. Though Roadhog might not need it! His semblance is making short work of Dell's creation." Pyrrha answered.

Pyrrha, being the combat expert that she was, was spot on with her assumption. Roadhog had pummelled the junk titan and it was now shuffling about the arena, practically unable to walk. With that said, his semblance had also run low, meaning he was back to his original strength levels.

The titan was starting to recover and despite the darkness engulfing the arena, their battle continued, thanks to the energy core that shone brightly at the titans centre. That was the key. Take out the core, and the titan would fall.

Roadhog had just the tool for the job. Holding a length of chain in one hand, he swung his hook around to build up momentum. As it reached enough speed, he flung it forward, straight at the titans core. The hook latched on with ease, the titan looking up in confusion before Roadhog gave one decisive pull.

The glowing power core was ripped from the titans chest, small bits of scrap following with it. The titan stood absolutely still for a few seconds, before collapsing in on itself in a cloud of rust and dust.

As impressive as this victory was however, it did leave a small problem. With the energy core destroyed, there was absolutely no light in the arena at all. They were all fighting blind, save for one.

The low, cockney voice of Slark echoed around the arena. It seemed to come from everywhere, making it impossible to pinpoint where the sneaky foe was.

"Ah, that's a bit more like it." he taunted. "The dark is always better innit? Means no one sees the mess you have to make! Heh Heh Heh!"

X, Dell and Roadhog now had their heads on a swivel, trying to catch even a fleeting glimpse of Slark. Every time they though they had found him, a shot or slash to their backs proved otherwise. Slark wasn't strong, but he would wear them down if the trio couldn't find him soon!

X gasped as another silenced pistol shot hit him in the back. It caused little damage, but his armour was not invulnerable, soon a shot would get through and put him out of the fight.

X continued to look for Slark, but as he did so, his eyes fell upon something else. The energy core.

X knew what he had to do, and he made a mad dash for the core. He took a breif look back behind him, expecting to see the other two following him. What he saw was much worse.

A mass of black smoke, practically indistinguishable from the darkness the covered the battleground apart from one thing; the pair of sharp yellow eyes that stared into X's soul. Slark had seen X and was aiming to cut him down.

Slark pounced on to X, knocking the reploid onto his back, with X's arms holding the assassin back. Slark drew his blade and with a vicious grin, stabbed at X's head. X moved his head so the blade just scratched the side of his neck. He then kicked Slark over the top of him and scurried back to his feet.

Slark went for another attack, but X was ready. Charging his buster, he fired not at Slark, but at the core itself.

The effect was spectacular.

The energy of the buster reactivated the core to maximum power, allowing bright beams of white light to shine forth in all directions, rendering Slark's arena choice useless, and allowing him to be seen clearly again.

"That's enough playing around. Let's end this!" X declared.

 _ARENA: SKYSCRAPER CITY_

As soon as this was said, several high rise buildings shot up from the ground and ascended all around X's position.

X then activated his weapon selection. On his HUD, several options appeared.

 **RUBY**

 **WEISS**

 **PYRRHA**

X selected Pyrrha and let himself transform. His armour became gold and crimson in colour and a large circular shield appeared on his back. His helmet also changed, looking more like an ancient Spartans. It had an open T visor and a red plume coming from the top that stretched to the back of his neck.

He now found himself surrounded by his three opponents. Just as he had hoped.

X focused his new ability on Roadhog's hook, pulling it from the giants grasp with Pyrrha's semblance. Almost immediately, he had used the hook to tie all of his opponents into a tight group.

After this, he switched to Weiss, a silver and white colour scheme. He looked at his buster gun, a small glyph now hovered in front of the barrel constantly. X charged the weapon to full power, and punched his buster into the arena floor.

As he did so, four glyphs surrounded the three opponents, who had only just gotten free from the hook bindings.

"Hey, he's using your summons Weiss! That's pretty neat!" Yang pointed out the obvious.

"Question is, what is he summoning?" Ren pondered. Though he soon got his answer... and it was not what he expected at all.

Now, summons are not always crystal clear. They take the form of a white silhouette of the summon rather than a full fledged colourful being. It was clear from seeing these summons however, that they were not humans but reploids.

The first was a male who was designed like a 1930's gangster. His headpiece shaped like a fedora and his body armour like a smart suit with long tails. In his hand were a set of cards.

The next was a young female. Her attire was unclear but it seemed to be similar to a nurses outfit. In addition, her hair extended outwards on either side, making it look like she had angel wings. Her body language made her seem shy and slightly nervous.

Another female reploid appeared from the third glyph. This one had standard body armour with distinct fins pointing out of the top of her head and a messy fringe on the front. As well as this, her hair seemed to be a massive ponytail that curled upwards at the end. She stood posed like a martial artist, standing on one leg and one hand held near her face with the index and middle finger held up.

The final glyph produced a massive reploid. He seemed to wear armour of some kind that made him large and bulky. It's distinctive features were large spikes protruding outwards from each shoulder and a pair of large fins on his back. His weapon, a pole arm, was held in both hands.

"Who... who are they?" Blake queried.

"The summon ability allows you to call on fallen enemies." Weiss explained. "Maybe he defeated them at some point."

"Or fought alongside them. I mean, if I was going to summon some help, I know who I'd pick." Jaune hypothesised, as he looked to his team with a smile.

"Aw shucks, go on!" Nora joked.

X's summons meanwhile were beginning to attack the three opponents using their various weapons to full effect. The giants pole arm made short work of even Roadhog's strength. The student was having to actually struggle against the power of the pole, pushing the blade away from him with all his might.

The ninja like summon was more than fast enough to keep Slark on his toes. She used a variety of quick kicks and punches that Slark was not fast enough to counter or even dodge despite using his semblance.

Dell, who should have been at an advantage with his machines, now found himself being tag teamed by the card wielder and the nurse type summon. Rather than healing, the nurse was able to place various status effects upon him and use magic type attacks. She fired shots of ice at him, one hitting his hand and freezing it in place. As Dell tried to shake it free, he was hit by the razor sharp cards. Most simply cut him and reduced his aura, but another hit his frozen hand and shattered it into pieces!

X's summons were doing a good job, now it was time to end this!

X hadn't called up the skyscraper arena for nothing. Using his natural ability, he started to scale the side of one of the skyscrapers, ascending it with great pace. Upon reaching the top, he switched to the only weapon form he hadn't used yet.

Yang's.

X's colour scheme changed to beige and yellow. Glowing gold energy extended from the back of his helmet which he assumed was meant to emulate Yang's hair. The biggest change though, was to his arms. Both became much larger buster cannons with red smoke slowly drifting out of them, as if the guns themselves were getting impatient to fire.

"How did X even get your weapon?" Weiss queried to Yang.

"Personal request. I saw how much stronger some of your abilities became when X used them. I was just curious how mine would look."

X charged up the busters. Small bursts of flame came from the barrels as he did so, and they busters themselves started to glow with power. As they hit full charge, X leapt from the top of the skyscraper over to the next one. Halfway across the gap, he aimed the two cannons, which now shook with energy, down at the brawl taking place below.

With a mighty battle cry, he fired.

Two glowing, red, rocket like projectiles shot down towards their targets. Trails of smoke followed behind them along with the characteristic whistling, the sound lowering in pitch as they descended.

On the arena below, the trio were too busy with their fight to even think about looking up, until it was far too late. Slark was the first to hear the whistle coming closer. He looked up and simply stared at the payload coming towards him. Roadhog was in much the same boat, aa small grumble accompanying his observation.

"Well..." Dell said as he saw the rockets. "... that sours my milk."

For the next few moments, the audience felt like they were in the arena with the competitors. The explosion was so bright that no one could see anything, nor hear due to the rumbling of the blast. Even though protective shields were up, the explosion caused fierce winds to blow into the audience, though not enough to cause damage.

As it subsided the spectators were in silent awe. The three other fighters lay on the ground unconscious, not to mention covered in dust and black with soot from the explosion. The summons were still there, but some of the buildings that had been nearby were not.

Finally, Oobleck spoke over the commentators mic. _"Well, I had a blast watching that fight!"_

A collective groan from the audience.

" _The winner by complete knockout is X!"_

The crowd erupted once more. Sure he was the favourite, but the performance he had put on was spectacular.

As host headmaster, Ozpin was waiting to give X the belt, but before that, X made his way over to the summons he had created.

"What's he doing Weiss?" Blake asked.

"Despite not being a true person, or reploid in this case, summons are extensions of the summoners memory. They can sometimes interact based on the memories the summoner has." Weiss explained.

"So he's going to..."

"Say goodbye to them again." Ruby finished, slightly sombre at the shift in mood.

X approached the summons who all stood looking over their fallen foes. As X came close, they turned to face him. None said a word, and their silhouette forms meant there were no facial features to see.

Regardless, X spoke. "Just like old times, huh guys? Thank you for helping me. I know you are only summons, but let that be proof at least... I'll never forget you, my friends."

Though they could not speak, each summon seemed to acknowledge the remark. The giant giving a salute, the card wielder tipping his hat slightly, the nurse waving in a cute manner and the ninja bowing respectfully.

Their job done, and thanks given, the summons disappeared, but X knew they would always remain in his memory, and in his heart.

As his opponents were taken off the field to get medical treatment (nothing too serious) X made his way to the arena centre, where Ozpin stood holding the Belt of Champions. X went up to him and gave a firm handshake, the two smiling at each other as he did so.

Placing the belt in both his hands, X turned to the crowd, who was building up a cheer as he lifted the belt high. As he thrust it above his head and showed off his prize, the audience reached max volume, their cheers deafening to anyone near the arena.

" _That concludes today's events students, please leave the arena in a calm and orderly fashion. Be sure to rest up for tomorrow, as we move on to the doubles rounds and have a few more extra matches in store!"_

As most made their way out of the arena, X's friends made their way to the dressing rooms, as did X himself. There would be a pretty big celebration for this victory! Hopefully the first of many for the group of friends from Beacon.

 _ **Chapter done and it's a longer one too! Mostly because of the fight, I didn't want to stretch this across two parts!**_

 _ **So X now holds the Champion Belt! I thought it was a pretty neat way to get him into the tournament. But who will challenge him in the future rounds? And what other events are planned for the tournament? Tune in next time to find out!**_

 _ **Also, you get an internet cookie if you know all the other fighters. A whole bag if you can name the summons too!**_

 _ **Until next time.**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	19. The War Looms Closer

_**And we are back! Time for chapter 18.**_

 _ **So, for those who didn't get the references the three fighters were Dell Connagher aka the Engineer from TF2, Slark Nightcralwer from Dota 2 and Roadhog from Overwatch.**_

 _ **The summons were Spider, Marino, Cinnamon and Massimo from Megaman X Command Mission.**_

 _ **Locke Lynx and CasualFictionWriter23 both get a bag of cookies... Ruby has insisted they are strawberry.**_

 _ **As for other reviews:**_

 _ **Pea Brain Writer: The armour and it's method of activation will be explained in this chapter, not because you asked, you just got lucky with the timing. :3**_

 _ **Chaos Dragon God: They weren't any parts in particular, I just used the combined armours from X8, though they are not their cannon powers. The X8 armour just looks so badass!**_

 _ **DreadAngelus: Soon my friend... soon!**_

 _ **A fan: Hmmm interesting, I have never played Destiny but may well give it a look over.**_

 _ **Neema Amiry: Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm**_

 _ **Anyway, on we go!**_

The early morning sun shone it's warming light upon the students in the courtyard of Beacon Academy. The next day of the Vytal tournament was upon them, and the students wasted no time making their way to the coliseum for the fights to begin.

It was a very packed schedule after all. As well as the doubles rounds taking place, there was also talk of a special event to precede the official matches. Though none knew what it was, Penny had informed her friends that she would be taking part in it. This explained why she was in such bright and alert form as the friends walked up the grand pathways to the arena.

The same could not be said for any of her companions however.

Despite not being old enough to get drunk, one could easily mistake teams RWBY and JNPR for being intoxicated. They had bags under their eyes, and seemed very drowsy. Blake and Yang held their heads due to some pounding headaches, and Ren practically had to carry Nora, who was snoring loudly against his shoulder.

"Man, that victory party got out of hand." Ruby groaned.

"Ssssshh! Not so loud, my head is killing me." Yang added.

"You're telling me." Jaune added. "I think I may have punched a teacher... or kissed her? One of the two."

"Zzzzzzzzzz... * **snort** * I'll never... kneel before you... Skeletor...zzzzzzzzz." Nora mumbled as she slept before pulling Ren in closer and nibbling on his collar. He didn't mind though, Nora was always like this.

X and Penny, with the advantage of being robots, were going on ahead since they seemed to be the only two capable of any meaningful exchanges at this point. The two were chatting away when a Bullhead zoomed over them, flying at a low altitude. Both X and Penny ducked slightly as the craft zoomed over them. Turning around, they could see it land at the end of the pathway, just a bit further back from where they were.

"I said keep it down!" Yang shouted.

Turning to the source of the noise, the teams could now see that three people were disembarking from the craft. X immediately recognised two of them.

"Winter! Long time no see!" he shouted as the whole group made their way over.

They soon met face to face again. Before doing anything else, X gave a salute to the man beside Winter.

"General Ironwood, sir!"

"Ha ha. At ease X. It seems Winter's military style training hasn't fully worn off you yet. You are here as a student now X, you don't need to address me as if you were part of my army any more."

X chuckled slightly. "Kind of a hard habit to get out of. It's good to see you two anyway.

"Likewise." Winter said. "I heard you made excellent use of the armour chips I equipped you with. Based on your old armour designs, but sadly we do not have the technology to make full armours just yet."

"Umm... how did you..."

"Your little private battle with my sister? I have my ways of finding out. Good work by the way, my sister is quite the skilled Huntress, but it seems she has much still to learn."

"And I shall do just that dear sister." Weiss interjected. "But in my own time and on my own terms. X can vouch for that."

Winter gave a small smile. "Indeed."

"Anyway, why are you guys here? I wasn't told you were visiting." X said, trying to lighten the mood.

"We need to have a little talk with Ozpin." A new voice said.

X looked to the third member to leave the ship. A slightly older man who wore clothing in a similar colour to Ruby's. He had messy, short hair and a stubbly beard. In his hand he carried a small flask and X could detect large amounts of alcohol on him. Who the hell was he? The weapon on his back implied he was a Huntsman, but who was this drunken mess of a man?

"UNCLE QROOOOOOOW!"

Having finally noticed him, Ruby ran up and grabbed onto the man's arm with her whole body. The man lifting her up off the ground by the arm she was clinging on to.

"Hi! Ah it's so good to see you! Did you miss me? DID YOU MISS ME?" Ruby squealed with wide eyes.

Qrow paused for a few seconds before a smile graced his lips. "Nope." Was his reply before he ruffled Ruby's hair, much to the girls delight.

"He's your Uncle?" Blake asked.

"He's a lunatic of a man who goes about drinking all day. Suddenly your behaviour makes sense, Ruby." Weiss added, arms folded.

She only got a glare from Ruby and Yang before Ozpin and Glynda joined them, Ozpin carrying his usual mug of coffee.

"Ya want some whiskey for that?" Qrow said, offering Ozpin some of the contents of his flask.

Ozpin shook his head, he had no idea what Qrow even put in the stuff! Besides, he was tee total anyway.

"I see you have already made some of the introductions. Qrow, this is the Reploid I was telling you about: X."

"So you're the legend that I've been hearing so much about. Sorry I haven't had the chance to see you in action yet, been kinda busy, as I'm sure Ozpin will understand." Qrow gave a slightly angry glare at Ozpin and Ironwood after saying that. The two teams could sense the tension building.

"On that note." Ozpin said. "We had better get down to business. Miss Poledina. I believe you have a match coming up, I suggest you head on and get ready for it."

Ruby moved over towards her uncle and whispered to him. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell ya later kid, you just go have a good time." He said, punching her slightly on the shoulder. "See ya Yang, so long kiddos!"

With that, Ozpin, Qrow, Glynda, Ironwood and Winter all headed towards Ozpin's office in the main building.

"That was weird. Is he always like that?" Jaune asked.

"Oh, only when he's drunk." Yang reassured him.

"Yang, he's always drunk." Ruby pointed out.

"Come my friends! We can talk with them later! My match will be starting soon!" Penny chirped, pulling on Ruby and X's hands and dragging them away towards the arena.

 **Ozpin's Office**

Winter paced back and forth along the clear glass floor, the ticking of the cogs almost mimicking her rhythmic footsteps. Her arms were behind her back, she was clearly stressed about whatever it was Qrow had to say.

Ironwood sat against Ozpin's desk, his arms folded as he calmly waited for the others. He opened one eye and looked at Winter, who had not stopped moving like this since they arrived.

"Winter, just relax, we don't know what Qrow has found out. It may be good news."

Winter scoffed. "With all due respect general, we sent Qrow to find out about Vile and his connection to Cinder. Since he has called us on such short notice to arrange this meeting, I highly doubt the news is good."

"True, but Vile is no match for the ability of X and his friends combined. Even if the news is bleak, it shouldn't matter too much."

"So, you decided to bring the whole Atlesian army just for the sake of it James?" Qrow interrupted, clearly angry.

Glynda stood beside Ozpin as the headmaster took his seat at his desk.

"Actually, I brought them for protection." Ironwood stated. "You know as well as I do that Cinder and the White Fang have been planning something big for a while now. With Vile in the picture as well, I thought it best to take precautions."

"Not to mention the lack of information we were getting from you, Qrow." Winter practically spat at him. "We send one of the most able Huntsmen in Remnant on a recon mission, and we don't hear from him for weeks. Of course we would assume the worst!"

Qrow became even more serious than he was before. "Well, if this is you preparing for the worst, then we are right royally screwed." He took a swig from his flask.

"What do you mean?" Glynda asked.

"This fleet. Your little robotic knights in chrome armour? They are nothing, compared to what our enemy has." Qrow explained.

"I appreciate that Vile may have some technological information he can give to Cinder, but I hardly think they have the resources to overwhelm the Atlesian army." Ironwood said.

"Your right, Cinder and Vile don't. But the others do..."

The room went into silent shock.

(Insert music: Megaman Zero 3 remastered – Dark Elf Arrange)

"Qrow, what others?" Ozpin calmly demanded the information from him.

"Your little Schnee grunts should have looked closer before you even touched that ancient bucket of bolts!"

Winter was furious. "How dare you call X by that title!"

Ironwood raised his hand. Begrudgingly, Winter backed down. "Please Qrow, continue. Preferably without the insults."

"I hadn't found much so I went back up to X's capsule room to check things out. I figured all those surges in Reaverbot activity, all those Grimm massacres must have had something to do with his removal."

"And?" Glynda pressed him.

"That capsule. We all thought it was a simple storage area, a device to keep X practically brand spanking new for all those years. That's what you thought all those power cables were for, taking all the energy from Neo Arcadia to keep him alive. What you didn't see, is that it was a two way system."

"Well? What was it that we missed?" Winter asked.

"I followed the cables right down to the base of the tower, right into the sub systems of Neo Arcadia. And linked up to it, was this."

Qrow took out his scroll and showed those present a picture he had taken. A capsule like X's, only this one had it's screen smashed in, and it's colouration was a mix of gold and purple. A colour scheme all too familiar to them.

"Vile's capsule..." Ozpin identified the obvious.

"Oh but wait a minute, it gets better!" Ozpin sarcastically said.

Qrow held his phone up once again, allowing all present to see. He flicked through the images he had taken. Each one was of a different capsule, again smashed and broken, but with no clear markings on them.

"How many were there?" Winter asked, slight concern in her voice now.

"Including Vile's? Ten. Ten capsules all busted open in a similar fashion. Like something was trying to get out."

Glynda suddenly clicked on to what Qrow was saying. "You mean that..."

"Exactly." Qrow said as he took a swig from his flask. "X Wasn't just locked away as some treasure for our generation to find like a time capsule. All of those capsules linked to his. He wasn't just sleeping in there, he was subconsciously keeping those capsules locked shut!"

"Oh no..." Winter frowned.

"Yup. When you removed X's from the system, it was like opening up the cells in a county jail! Every single one of those capsules was locked for a reason, most likely one that X had faced some time in his past. To keep everyone safe, he used his own energy to seal them away, and now you have unleashed them back upon the world!"

Ozpin pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"And the icing on the cake? When you removed him, it also wiped his memory, so we don't even have the faintest idea of what we are up against! Nice going Winter!"

Ozpin stomped his cane down on the floor, gaining everyone's attention. "That is enough Qrow! What's done is done, we can't change that now. So the question that remains, is what our next move should be."

"You're the smart cookie Ozpin, you tell me." Qrow said, with slight sarcasm, though Ozpin took it seriously.

"Despite the undeniable threat from this new foe, there is no indication they intend to strike soon. I suggest we continue with the tournament and deal with the threat at hand. If Cinder strikes then we are more than prepared to defeat her. Once she is gone, we can deal with these new foes."

"Ozpin, Cinder is some demented chick who read to much into the legends of the Maidens. We know for a fact they aren't real and her quest to find this power is going to get her killed. We don't have time to go on some wild goose chase to catch her!"

"Nor do we have the resources to fight on two fronts, Qrow. Regardless of Cinder's misguided actions, she is still a threat. I would rather deal with her first than take on both of them at once."

 **The Coliseum**

Another day, another packed stadium. The cheers and whoops of the crowd had still not tired despite the epic fights of yesterday.

As usual, Oobleck and Port were on hand to do the commentary.

" _And so, the doubles rounds approach! The best so far have made their way through the full team qualifiers and are now one step closer to winning the tournament."_ Oobleck said.

" _Quite right._ Port continued. _"But before we get started with that, we have another special event to open up with! Please welcome our competitor for this event: Miss Penny Poledina!"_

Penny practically skipped into the arena, overjoyed at the chance to finally show her skills to the world! She was enjoying ever single moment, waving and blowing kisses to the crowd. She even got a few wolf whistles and flowers thrown from the boys near the front of the stands!

She soon spotted her friends cheering her on in the stands. Taking the time to head over to them and get some encouragement from them.

"You got this girl!" Yang said, pointing finger guns at her.

"Knock 'em dead!" Nora shouted a bit too enthusiastically.

"Good luck!" Blake calmly said.

Then Penny came to Ruby, perhaps her closest friend. The two smiled genuinely at each other.

"Give it all you've got Penny!" Ruby encouraged her.

"We're rooting for you!" X added.

With her spirits high, Penny took her spot on the side of the arena. But, there was no sign of her opponent. At least that was the case, until two Atlesian Knights opened up the gates at the opposite end of the arena.

From within the dark entryway, one could hear a sound. A deep, throaty... croak?

Penny suddenly felt less confident, as her opponent was lured into the arena. It was not what she was expecting.

Port spoke up. _"Ladies and Gentlemen, our next fight is a bit of old vs new! Penny Poledina, you will be facing one of the mighty defenders of the old world! Introducing, the frog Reaverbot: Gargarfummi!"_

Stepping slowly into the arena light, Gargarfummi emerged. It was massive with four short, cylindrical legs. Most ofi t's body consisted of a giant mouth, at the back of whicjh was a large cannon like device, and a fast robotic tounge! It's eyes were simple white circles with black centres and outer rims.

Penny drew her blades from her backpack and readied herself for battle.

Gargarfummi clearly saw this and locked it's eyes on her. With a mighty ribbit that resonated far and wide, it hopped high in the sky and landed with a rumble. As the Atlesian Knights sealed the gates and left the arena, the countdown started.

" _3..._

 _2..._

 _1..._

 _FIGHT!"_

In the seats, Cinder, Mercury and Emerald sat and watched eagerly. Mercury in particular seemed to be enjoying himself as he helped himself to a bag of popcorn.

"Well ***crunch*** this is going to be interesting." he said with his mouth full, much to Emerald's disgust.

"Not as interesting as things are going to be soon." Cinder said softly, with a devilish grin. She took out her scroll and spoke into it quietly so no one could hear her. "Neo, you may commence infiltration."

 **Atlesian Military Flagship – Cargo Bay**

Over the video call, Neo gave a small nod to show Cinder she understood. As she put the scroll away, loud, clanking footsteps approached her.

"Finally time to get started, huh?" Vile said.

Neo simply gave a happy grin as Vile cracked his knuckle joints. "Heh heh heh! Finally!"

 _ **MAN YOUR STATIONS GUYS! IT'S STARTING!**_

 _ **Two chapters in two days, aren't you lucky ducks? This chapter was a breeze since it was all talking, next chapter will be Penny's fight and then... well.**_

 _ **You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?**_

 _ **Don't forget to review and share!**_

 _ **Until next time.**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	20. Burning Ambition

_**Chapter 19, and one heck of a fight is happening! The infamous Gargarfummi, whom caused many a player to rage and throw controllers around, is facing down Penny! Can she defeat it? Let's find out!**_

(Insert music: Megaman Legends 2 – Manda Ruins Boss)

Penny felt her legs tremble beneath her slightly. Though she was confident in her abilities as a Huntress, she hadn't been expecting to fight a monster of this scale.

"KICK HIS BUTT PENNY!"

Penny looked over to see Ruby shouting her on at the top of her lungs. With new found confidence from her friends, the synthetic girl prepared herself for battle. She held two of her swords in her hands and eight more hovered behind her.

Gargarfummi made the first move, leaping skyward and aiming to squash Penny underneath it's massive weight. Penny saw this coming a mile away, throwing the two blades in her hands behind herself and embedding them into the wall on the far side of the arena. Two cable that were attached to the blades retracted, pulling Penny back and out of danger.

Gargarfummi then opened it's gaping mouth and fired out it's tongue. Penny had only just retracted her blades from the wall when she noticed the tongue fly towards her. It smashed her into the side wall then retracted, allowing the poor girl to fall to her hands and knees.

As Penny looked up, the tongue fired again. This time, she used the jet boosters on her blades to dodge it, the tongue shooting past her and hitting the spot where she had just been. Before it could pull back this time, Penny took the two blades in her hands and slashed down on the tongue.

The piece near the end fell to the floor, quivering and twitching on the ground as it was cut from the main body.

Gargarfummi raised back on it's hind legs, wiggling the front two in pain as it gave a roar and pulled what was left of it's tongue back.

Penny regrouped herself and got into her battle stance again. She got a light cheer from the crowd for the move she had just performed, which only served to make her even more confident.

Gargarfummi stood back on all fours and opened it's mouth again. Penny prepared herself for another tongue strike, but this time, the Reaverbot did something different. Out of two holes in the back of it's mouth, several small Reverbots flew out. They were cylindircal with the characteristic red crystal eye and a small tail. They flew around on a pair of small wings and started to circle above Penny.

"Balfura's." Penny said to herself, identifying the flying foes.

As if realising they had been discovered, the Balfura swarm dived down towards Penny, their tails extended to stab at her and their wings spinning up like sawblades.

Penny drew all of her blades and arranged them in a circle, like a fan blade. She then started to rotate them around her hand, spinning them so fast that they formed a shield to protect her.

The Balfura found this out the hard way, several of them charging straight into it, resulting in a mix of sparks and clangs, before their pieces fell to the ground. The cylinder shaped Reaverbots chopped up neatly like they were cucumbers.

Those who had survived hovered around Penny and switched their tails into small laser guns. They fired a barrage of shots at her, trying to overwhelm the girl.

Penny split her blades into two groups. She used the first five for defence, letting them move to different positions around herself to deflect the laser bolts. The other five switched to ranged form and fired back at the attackers.

If the spectators were not that interested in the fight, they were getting a free laser light show as well! Not to mention some fireworks as the Balfura exploded one by one after a hit from Penny's guns.

With all of the targets destroyed and littering the arena, Penny focused her efforts on the Gargarfummi once again. Redirecting her weapons, she opened fire on the main Reaverbot, hopeful that one massive barrage would defeat it!

She was in for a shock however, as she fired, the energy blasts simply pinged off the armour, dissipating as soon as they hit and causing no damage whatsoever.

The Reaverbot took a moment to laugh at the girl, before it made it's next move. Unleashing it's tongue again, it swept it across the arena floor. Penny threw her blades into the wall again and clung to them so she was not caught by the tongue, but that was not the Gargarfummi's aim. Instead, it gathered up all the pieces of the Balfura that had been destroyed and placed them in it's mouth.

Penny watched on curiously as the frog Reaverbot began to chew on the pieces, keeping it's mouth shut as it did so. When it reopened it's mouth, all the pieces had been crunched down into small, sharp pellets. Gargarfummi leaned back and gave a mighty croak. As it opened it's mouth to do so, the pellets fired.

The effect was like a machine gun. Red hot bits of metal shot forth from the beast and impacted off the walls and floor, not to mention the few that reached Penny. They pinged off her aura, though a few got through leaving small holes in her clothes. Penny deflected them as best she could. Fortunately, the assault was quickly over as the Gargarfummi ran out of ammunition.

Peering between the blades, Penny saw the Reaverbot still laughing, it's mouth wide open. She would happily punish him for it. Circling her blades again, she pointed them directly at the opponent and stood behind them. A green energy shot started to charge up. As soon as it reached full power, Penny released it. The shot travelled across the arena with great speed, before landing right in the Gargarfummi's mouth.

The hit clearly worked, and took it by surprise as it rolled onto it's back from the force of the strike, it's stubby legs wiggling like a crazy.

Penny wasted no time, going on the offensive with her blades as she used her boosters to dash beside the Reaverbot. She began to slash at it's stomach, lining up each blade behind the other so that as soon as one hit, another did the same, meaning there was no let up in her assault.

With surprising quickness however, the Gargarfummi rolled back upright and landed beside Penny with all of it's weight, knocking the girl away from her target.

The Reaverbot was clearly enraged now. It opened it's mouth and fired out...

"Bubbles?" Weiss seemed genuinely confused.

"Oooooooo! Pretty!" Nora said, gawking at the sight.

"What kind of an attack is that?" Blake wondered.

At least she did until one of the bubbles hit the arena wall close to them. It left a small green residue on the wall. This was then swiftly followed by a hissing sound. Bits of the wall where the bubble toughed were soon disintegrated, leaving a hole in the wall that was a little too close to Jaune for his own comfort.

"Not pretty! Not pretty at all!" Jaune squeaked as he tucked his legs up on his seat, away from the hole.

Penny had seen this, and decided the best course of action was to get rid of the bubbles as fast as possible. She sent one of her blades out to pop the seemingly innocent projectiles. The first blade hit the bubble, and immediately melted into a pile of molten metal!

Penny gasped as she quickly retracted her swords before any more could be destroyed. In her panic though, she did not notice one of the bubbles come close to her, and hit her in the right eye! The acid effect was immediate, her synthetic skin covering boiled and melted, exposing her robotic form underneath. Penny quickly moved her fringe over to cover the area, not wishing anyone to see what she actually was.

Readying her laser's again, she fired at the rest of the bubbles, popping them all in quick succession.

Gargarfummi had one more trick up it's sleeve however. Or more precisely, in it's back! Leaning forward, it fired out what most though to be missiles. As it turned out, they were slightly more troublesome than that.

"Oh no!" Pyrrha gasped. "Otamarns!"

The small, purple, tadpole like Reaverbots flew out from the sections on Gargarfummi's back, and flew around at Penny's level of height. The small circle on the front of them was surrounded by serrated teeth! They swam through the air towards Penny, biting her each time one of them swam past.

Penny was getting pretty sick of this! She needed to get them away from her, and she knew just how to do it!

She drew her blades in close to herself, allowing the ends to point outwards. She held one hand in front of her, and placed another on her chest. Most would think she was activaing a semblance ability, but she had another aim in mind.

The hand on her chest was holding directly on to her power centre. She looked through her protocols and found the one she needed to activate.

As she activated it, her energy core began to create excess energy. Small blue sparks started to arc off from it, and through her hand. Soon, her whole body had small electric shocks passing over it. They in turn, passed on to her blades.

With her whole body electrically charged, she prepared for one final surge. She grit her teeth and her eyes glowed blue slightly as she fired it.

Suddenly, a ball of blue electricity surrounded her, the blades forming the edges and shocking everything within the area. Of curse, this included the Otamarns.

The small tadpole Reaverbots all shuddered and twitched as the electricity poured through them, and overloaded their circuits. As the shock over Penny subsided, the Reaverbots all fell to the ground, dead.

Finally, she had some breathing space, now came the main problem of Gargarfummi.

It seemed that the only way to beat this monstrosity, was to hit it in the mouth, but how would she get the chance to without letting herself be attacked?

That was when an idea came to Penny. It was crazy, it was stupid in some ways, it was certainly illogical, but it was her only chance.

"What's she doing?" Ren said, puzzled as he saw Penny just stand there with her arms by her sides.

The Gargarfummi seemed confused as well, but it would not pass up a free chance to kill! It fired out it's tongue again, looking to grab Penny.

"Dodge it Penny!" Ruby shouted, concerned for her friends well being now.

But she didn't. Allowing the tongue to reach her, it wrapped itself around Penny's waist and pulled her towards the frog Reaverbot. It raised it's captured prise for a few moments, waving Penny around in the air. Then, it retracted it's tongue into it's mouth.

And took Penny with it.

"PENNY!" Ruby screamed as the Gargarfummi pulled her friend into it's mouth.

The audience was in a state of shock too, several gasps and screams came from the crowd, as well as a few people fainting.

The arena fell silent for a few moments, though Ruby was still on her feet, anxious to see Penny somehow be alright. The Huntress was hyperventilating, each breath short and panicked.

The Gargarfummi sat still, enjoying it's prize. Then it suddenly twitched and gave a small growl of pain. Then another, and another. The audience watched as it rolled onto it's back, crying out in pain and waving it's legs in the air.

Small explosions started to come from it's body, getting faster and more violent as they went on. Something had happened to it, it was being destroyed, but by what?

The explosions stopped, as did the movements of the Gargarfummi. It twitched slightly and opened it's mouth wide to let out one final, weakened croak.

 ***KABOOM***

A huge pillar of fire and smoke shot up from the arena as the Gargarfummi was blown to pieces. Some of the larger chunks were still intact such as the head part, a leg and the massive jaws.

The beast had been defeated, but the audience just murmured in worry and confusion. Where was Penny?

Ruby and her friends looked all around the arena, trying to find some indication that she was okay.

Suddenly, Pyrrha pointed to the main jaw. "Look! Something's moving in there!"

As the smoke cleared away, the whole arena could see the jaws twitching slightly. Slowly, the mechanism creaked open, and a familiar face crawled out of the former enemy.

"SHE'S ALRIGHT!" Ruby cheered, half happy, half crying.

The rest collapsed in their chairs and let out a sigh of relief as the arena applauded the girl for her victory.

Penny got to her feet, looking slightly dizzy as she did so. Regaining her composure, she found RWBY and JNPR as well as X running up to her. Ruby ran on ahead of the rest, using her semblance to reach Penny first.

"Friend Ruby! OOF!"

Before Penny could get another word out, Ruby had floored her with a high speed hug. She refused to let go, still having unshed tears in her eyes.

"That... was the most crazy, daredevil thing I've ever seen you do! You had me worried sick!" Ruby seemed actually annoyed at Penny.

"Well... I... uh..." Penny tried to think of an answer as the rest of the teams watched on, unsure of what to do.

Ruby looked at Penny sternly, electing a look of worry from the robotic girl, before it changed into Ruby's usual happy smile.

"Looks like I taught you pretty well!"

JNPR, WBY and X let out a sigh before laughing too.

"Just no more crazy stunts, okay?" X said, placing a hand on Penny's shoulder. Penny gave a nod in agreement.

The cameras focused on the friends as X and Ruby raised Penny's arms like a referee at a boxing match. The rest all huddled around them, congratulating Penny on her first tournament win! They basked in the crowds adoration, Penny bowed to them as the cameras zoomed in on her face. Everything was going perfectly.

Until the screen changed to a symbol they didn't recognise.

The arena fell silent, save for a few worried gasps and conversations, as the sound system screeched and beeped, almost as if someone on an outside source was hacking in. The symbol on the screens was a red background with a black queen chess piece in the centre.

In the commentators booth, Oobleck was on a comm line to the camera crew. "Broadcast, what is going on? Cut off that feed!"

"We can't!" The reply came." We have no access to the camera network! We've been locked out!"

The symbol that appeared was unfamiliar, but the voice that came after it was. A voice they hoped not to hear for a long time, one that made RWBY, JNPR, Penny and X all freeze with a mix of anger and fear.

(Insert music: Megaman Zero 3 – Curse of Vile)

"How entertaining." the silky, smooth, poisonous voice said.

"That voice! It couldn't be." Ren said, genuinely afraid.

"It's her." Weiss confirmed his suspicion through a clenched fist.

"Cinder Fall." X finished, just as angry as Weiss was.

The arena was deathly still, listening to what Cinder had to say. The audience members stayed close to those they knew, hoping that all of this was just some idle threat, or a prank.

"A most impressive fight from Miss Poledina. To take down one of the most advanced creations from our forefathers is no easy feat. My congratulations to the young lady on her victory."

Penny suddenly felt a whole lot less joyful about her win.

"Then again, it wasn't truly a fair fight, was it? An ancient pile of nuts and bolts, against one of the most modern, up to date creations of our generation? I think we could all see how the fight would end a mile away."

X and Ruby were shocked. How did she know? The rest of their friends were just confused.

"That's right. I know all about your little project, Ironwood. Taking pieces of the old technology, and implementing them into your own creations. It's an ambitious project, and one that is definitely worthwhile."

Ironwood placed his head in his hands. This couldn't be good.

"Perhaps, most valuable of all though, is what it has inspired me to do. You built this world on top of the ruins of the ancient world. I intend to do the same."

As soon as those words were spoken, a loud siren sounded, raising and lowering in pitch as it did so. Then, the screens changed to a warning symbol and a robotic voice came over the tannoy.

 _ALERT: GRIMM ATTACK INCOMING, THREAT LEVEL: 9. PLEASE SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY._

People heard the warning and began to run out of the arena in a panic, trying to find any shelter they could. As they did so, there was a loud thudding on the top of the arena. The group of friends looked up to see a giant Nevermore, it landed on the security barrier and began to peck away at the shielding.

Cinder spoke again. "It's only natural. The weak civilizations pass on, when those who are stronger emerge to take their place. It happened to the ancients and, try as you might with your Hunters or armies, the same will happen to you. The time has come to usher in a new world, a stronger world. It's just a shame you won't be around to see it."

With that, the feed cut back to the warning screens, the symbol disappearing.

"How the hell did Cinder manage all of this?" Yang asked, frustrated at the scenes that were taking place.

"She had a little help." Ruby said, pointing to the Bullheads that were landing nearby. Blake recoiled in shock as she saw the symbol on the side. The wolf head with claw marks.

The White Fang.

The tannoy rang out once again, this time with Ozpin on the line.

" _Attention all Hunters, you have been training for this day, though we hoped it would never come. Your first priority is to get the civilians to safety. Repel the Grimm from Beacon Academy, do not let them get near the city, keep them contained! If anyone is able to neutralise Cinder and her associates then do so. Stay safe, and good luck."_

It was pretty clear that the last part of that message was aimed at X, RWBY and JNPR.

"Alright, battle plan." X declared. "JNPR, I want you to clear out the academy building. Go through the main entrance and work your way up to Ozpin's office, make sure he is safe."

"Gotcha!" Nora said, readying her grenade launcher as the team ran off to complete their objective.

"Weiss, Blake, Yang. I need you to get down to the landing bays and try to hold off the White Fang. Most of them are grunts and should pose no real problem."

"What about you and Ruby?" Blake asked.

"We need to find Cinder and her cronies! They're going to pay for what they have done here today!"

"How are we going to find her in this mess? She could be anywhere!" Ruby queried.

Looking above them, the team saw an Atlesian army flagship firing it's guns. Not at the various Grimm that flew through the sky, but on to one of it's own ships! The one that was hit never stood a chance, and began to point downwards and descend towards the ground below.

"That narrows it down a bit." X said as he and Ruby dashed off towards the hangars to try and get a ship to take them up there.

Yang and Weiss started to make their way to the docks, but Blake stayed behind, staring sadly in the direction her friends were running.

"Adam." She said softly. "Please don't let it be true." She then ran to join her friends.

X and Ruby were just leaving the arena when Penny stopped them.

"Friend X! Friend Ruby! Wait, I will accompany you on this mission!"

"Not this time Penny." X said. "You've just come out of a tough battle, your aura is already low, we can't risk it when you're in this condition."

"I cannot just stay here and do nothing!" She protested.

"You won't be." Ruby said. "Get these people out of the arena to somewhere safe! That Nevermore could break the shields at any time!"

"But I-"

"Penny, please! We'll be fine."

Penny was reluctant, but she gave Ruby a confident smile. "You can count on me Ruby!"

"I know I can." Ruby smiled back. "Come on X, let's go!"

With that, the two dashed off, leaving Penny to take care of things in the arena. This was it, the battle of Beacon was beginning.

 **Neo Arcadia**

The hooded figures all gathered in the main transerver room, all of them seemingly ready for battle.

The relaxed one spoke. "Well, looks like Cinder has made her move, and forced our hand."

"Indeed." The deep voiced one said. "She is far to much of a liability to be kept alive, and recent discoveries by that man Qrow, have meant that we can no longer stand idly by."

The female figure then addressed Gate. "Is the override device ready?"

"Ready and working, my lady."

"We can assess the situation once we arrive. Just remember, I want X alive and Cinder dead. Those are your primary objectives."

"What about any other targets?" The relaxed one asked.

"Do with them as you see fit." The girl said, passively. "If they would prove beneficial to our cause, you may take them. If not, then dispose of them."

 _ **DUN DUN DUDU DUN!**_

 _ **It's happening! Cinder has launched her attack on Beacon, and all hell has broken loose! She is not the only one though. We are heading for one heck of a battle folks!**_

 _ **I know these chapters have come thick and fast, but I had a few days off and decided to put some more time into this story. Normal upload times will probably resume from here on out.**_

 _ **Enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to review and share.**_

 _ **Until next time.**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	21. The Battle Begins

_**Alright, next chapter. Just a heads up, the battle of Beacon will have A LOT of stuff going on in it, it will take several chapters. Think of this like the big finale to the first arc!**_

Bodies. Bodies everywhere. The pathway from cargo room to bridge was obvious. A trail made in death and destruction. Silence filled the ship, save for a few sparking systems and muffled alarms.

On the bridge itself, only three people stood. Vile, Neo and the one they had come to rescue; Roman Torchwick.

"It's about time you came and got me! Do you have any idea how cramped it was in there? I haven't even been able to get the creases out of my suit! What kind of sicko lets a perfectly good garment like this just wrinkle and get ruined?" Roman nagged as he dusted himself off.

The other two obviously didn't take him seriously, though Neo gave an amused giggle. There was no such reaction from Vile, who simply moved over to the main console.

The body of a female operator was slumped over the top of it. Vile took a moment to look at it, her eyes and face frozen in the moment of shock and realisation that she was looking her death in the face. It was a face that would bring tears to the most steadfast of soldiers, the most defiant of men.

And underneath his helmet, Vile just grinned.

With the small time given to caring for the cadaver gone, he absently tossed the body off to the side, clearing the way for his dapper colleague.

"We didn't come here for fashion advice Roman. We've taken down the rest of the fleet, and we've got you in tow, now we can get out of here."

"Quite right." Roman agreed as he spun his cane and adjusted his hat. "Onwards to bigger and deadlier things!"

In the distance however, on to front of the airship, the three saw a Bullhead landing. Out of it came two figures. It was hard to see them, but the colour scheme was enough to let them know who it was.

"Well, well, well. Little Red Riding Hood..." Roman started.

"... and Little Boy Blue." Vile finished as the trio made their way onto the top deck of the ship, weapons loaded.

 **Atlesian Flagship – Top Deck**

X and Ruby disembarked quickly and set their feet on the solid metal top of the airship. Despite flying through the air, it was incredibly stable.

X held a hand to his ear to open his com link.

"Thanks, we owe you one. Now get yourself out of here before the Grimm get you."

" _Roger that sir. Good luck you two, I'll rendevous with you in- AIEEEEEEEE!"_

As pilot spoke, his craft was hit with a massive energy shot right on the main rotor. The force was enough to throw it over the edge and, with no engine, the ship would be hitting the ground sooner rather than later.

X and Ruby peered over the edge in horror at the sight. Another innocent life taken. Turning in anger, the two saw their opponents. Vile's gun was still smoking as he retracted it to the upright position.

Roman held out his arms and gestured to the chaos around them. "What do you think little red? You tried to be the big hero, and look at what it's come to!"

"What are you doing Torchwick?" Ruby shouted over the noise around her. "You've taken out the only force that can stop the Grimm from destroying everything!"

"That's the plan!"

"But why? What do you have to gain from it?"

"I'm a gambling man kiddo, but even I know there are some bets that just aren't worth taking!"

Vile spoke up. "He's right kid, and I'm sure you'll agree X. There is no point in taking a risk if you don't have to!"

X snarled at Vile, both he and Ruby could barely contain their hatred for these people.

Vile continued. "Don't get mad at me for that, it's a good lesson to learn! Also, that just reminded me of something important I have to take care of."

Vile pulled his cannon down, aiming it at Ruby and X. The two braced themselves, ready to dodge the projectile. Neither was prepared for what happened next though.

As quickly as a blink, Vile turned his cannon on to Roman and fired a shot straight at his back.

Roman gasped in pain as his eyes widened, before he fell face down on the deck, dead.

"Wh- what the hell is wrong with you?" Ruby screamed.

"Like Roman said, why take a risk if you don't have to?" Vile said, justifying himself.

"I don't understand, why rescue him just to kill him?"

"Because he would be a liability. Roman may not be the smartest guy on Remnant, but he has powerful friends in high places. We couldn't have him wandering around when Cinder's plan falls apart, could we?"

Neo and Vile both gave a small laugh to each other, as Neo placed a heel on Roman's body and kicked it over the side of the ship.

"Cinder's plan... will fail? What have you done? What do you know?" X demanded

"I know what is coming. A force is rising against human and faunus alike, X. Something that is infinitely stronger than Cinder and her little White Fang, and they won't stand for it! Cinder will be defeated, the White Fang will be wiped out, and the world as you know it will change forever."

Ruby spoke up. "Vile wait! If this new power won't let Cinder live, what makes you think it will let you and Neo go off the hook?"

"Hahahaha! Oh they won't, I know they won't. But as long as you, X and your pathetic little friends die at our hands..."

Vile's left eye started to glow bright red, it's light piercing through the dark clouded sky. As Neo drew her weapon, she opened her eyes and revealed her right eye was glowing the exact same way.

"... we really don't care!"

(Insert music: Megaman X Command Mission – Executive Battle)

Vile activated his jetpack and hovered high above the battleship as Neo, her umbrella opened and resting upon her shoulder, walked forward and gave a small curtsey bow.

"All yours Ice Cream!" Vile laughed, giving Neo the instruction to fight.

Neo was first to strike, stabbing her blade at Ruby before following up with several quick jabs. Ruby spun her scythe around to block each sword strike, trying to keep the blocks in one smooth, fluid motion.

Neo's strikes were much more simple and calculated, she only moved when she had to, thus expending little of her energy.

Ruby moved in with a sweeping scythe strike. Neo barely had to even move, leaning back just far enough to let the scythe edge pass over her. Hell, she still had one hand on her hip and the other on her umbrella.

Ruby slashed downwards, embedding her scythe into the metal floor. Neo stepped over to the weapon and with a high kick, she knocked it out of Ruby's hands, the scythe spinning wildly in the air.

Neo then tried another stab, but Ruby leapt up and caught her scythe in mid air, before landing back down safely, ready for another attempt

Vile now swooped down to try and take Ruby out, aiming a kick to her head. Before he could reach her though, X dashed over and leapt up to grab Vile. The two of them tumbled to the deck.

As the two struggled, Vile rolled over and sat on top of X before hitting him with consecutive punches to the face. Right hook, left hook, right hook, left hook. Until X caught one of his punches with his hand, holding the fist back before aiming his buster at Vile's helmet and firing.

Vile jetted backwards, giving X the room he need to get back up. As he did so however, Vile charged at him, grabbing the Hunter by both arms and tossing swinging him around.

Ruby looked over and saw X was in trouble. As Neo moved in for a slash at the girl, Ruby ducked under the sword before punting Neo in the face with the butt of her Scythe, forcing the mute to stumble. Ruby activated her semblance and ran to X with all haste.

Vile saw Ruby coming from the other end of the ship. He still held on to X, as he shouted over to Ruby.

"You want him? Go get him!"

Ruby gasped as Vile mercilessly swung X with full force over the edge of the ship. Ruby skidded to a halt just on the edge, her hand reaching out into the air as she saw X fall and disappear from view.

Ruby froze. He was gone... Vile had just done the unthinkable. There was no way X could survive that fall, surely? The thoughts flashed through her head, she didn't want to believe it, but she had to.

"And the ball goes out of the park! Gahahahaha!" Vile mocked as Neo walked up to join him, her blade scraping along the metal hull of the ship.

Ruby held back tears as she gripped her weapon tight.

"But that was just the warm up. I'm not really satisfied, even after seeing him die. I was planning on killing you now, but I think I wanna see you suffer. I mean, if that's the reaction of X, who you hardly even knew dying. What would it be like to see your other friends go the same way."

Ruby turned to Vile, a look of pure contempt in her silver eyes, right now she hated this... thing more than anyone could.

"You...will not...HURT MY FRIENDS!"

Enraged, Ruby charged at Vile. To her surprise though, Neo leapt over Vile, using his cannon to swing from. She kicked Ruby square in the chest before hitting her scythe from underneath with her umbrella, knocking it out of Ruby's hands.

Vile now fired a rocket at her feet, tearing up the hull and sending Ruby into the air, before he threw one massive punch that launched Ruby away from the two towards the edge of the airship. Ruby rolled along the deck and toppled over the side, just managing to grab on to the edge with both hands. As her legs dangled in the Grimm filled skies, Vile looked down on her.

"You really shouldn't be playing around here kid! This is dangerous equipment! You're going to get yourself into trouble!" He sarcastically said before placing a crushing foot on Ruby's right hand.

He dug the foot in, twisting it slightly to try and loosen Ruby's grip as the scythe wielder cried out in pain.

"Just let go Ruby. It's a long way down but it'll be fine! I'm sure what's left of X will break your fall! Hahaha!"

Ruby's hand finally gave way, she gave a loud squeal as she dropped slightly, and Vile moved over to remove the grip of her other hand. He was about to place the foot on to it, taking joy at the fear in Ruby's eyes.

Until a blue energy shot hit him directly in the jaw, knocking Vile off his feet and giving Ruby the chance to get back up.

"What the hell?!" Vile cried as he looked to see what was happening. He saw nothing, only Ruby trying to crawl back up onto the deck.

"Neo! Finish her!"

With a silent nod, Neo ran up to Ruby and gave a quick slash to Ruby's arm. It wasn't enough to remove it, but it left a deep gash, and forced Ruby to lose her grip. Neo heard Ruby scream as she lost her grip and plummeted to the ground below.

 **A few moments earlier – with X**

X watched the airship above him get smaller and smaller as he fell. X cursed himself as the ground drew closer.

"Really wish I had some wings right now!"

Suddenly, X remembered something.

"Wait as sec..."

X opened the wrist compartment and flicked through the storage slots. Winter had given him a whole bunch of armour chips to give him some of their abilities. He quickly checked through them, it had to be in here somewhere. Finding the chip he was looking for, X took it out and got ready to activate it.

"This had better work!" He said to himself.

"Armour Mode! Falcon!" X shouted as he slammed the chip into it's activation slot.

X's foot boosters activated on maximum power. Then his wrists had two small jets coming out of them to help stabilise himself, before two metal wings activated on his back, with jets underneath them. X brought them all to maximum power and stopped himself, hovering in mid air.

He took a moment to look at the scene around him. Countless Grimm monsters were flying past him, all heading towards Beacon Academy which was now a ruined battle ground. As much as he wanted to go and help, he had to get rid of Vile and Neo first.

Firing his jets, he flew straight up towards the capital ship where Ruby was. In the distance, he could see Ruby hanging over side and Vile peering down at her. Good thing the Falcon armour had such a precise charge shot. He took aim at Vile's head, taking care not to hit Ruby in the process. He fired and watched the shot soar ahead and hit Vile away from Ruby.

X drew ever closer, confident he would make it. At least he was until he saw Ruby fall down towards him!

Using his advanced optics, he calculated where Ruby would be in relation to himself. He held out his arms and safely caught her before she fell too far.

"First it's raining Grimm, now it's raining Huntresses?" X smiled as Ruby grabbed him tightly, understandably shaken at her experience.

The two looked up at the ship. There was no sign of Vile or Neo having spotted them.

"We can't let them get away." Ruby defiantly said.

X looked at her in surprise. "You nearly died just there! You sure you're okay for another round?"

The normally jolly girl gave X a dead serious look. "I'll be fine, we need to make sure they can't destroy any more of the Atlesian army."

X agreed with her. "Alright then. Going up!" he said as the two flew up to the ship once again.

 **Back on the ship**

"Jeez, that actually kinda hurt." Vile said as he checked the burn mark on the bottom of his jaw where the shot hit. Neoo was holding a compact mirror she used so that he could check it out.

"Oh well, it'll buff out." he chuckled.

"I've got a better idea!" A familiar voice called to him. Causing Vile to gawk in surprise (or he would have were it not for the helmet).

"How about we just give you a few more to match that one!" Ruby smiled, her scythe pointed at Vile, along with X aiming his buster at Neo.

"Oh God dammit! What is it going to take for you to just stay dead, X?!" Vile fumed.

"I could ask you the same question, Vile. This is, what, the fifth time I've had to defeat you?"

"You could have killed me at any point X, you know that. You had every chance to shoot me stone cold dead, but you didn't! Your so naïve and so merciful! That is your weakness! It's why I've been able to keep haunting you and it's the reason this world is doomed to destruction!"

X gave Vile a glare, a glare that Vile never though he would see from the Legendary Hunter. A look that told him that X was willing not just to fight... but to kill.

"Well then." X said in a low, serious tone. "Maybe it's time I changed that!" X fired a shot straight at Vile. It pierced his guard and actually caused damage to the purple clad reploid, it was a shot that was intended to kill, not just stun."

Vile gave a loud cackle. "I'm almost impressed! Why the change from goody two shoe to goody two shot?"

X was still serious and calm as he replied. "Being with these kids has taught me a lot. All about their weapons and skills, how the world has changed since the days of Neo Arcadia. But the most important thing they have taught me, is that this world has no mercy. These humans have had to fight tooth and nail just to stay alive. They have to fight relentlessly, with nothing held back, to protect those they hold dear. I may not like, I know they certainly don't. But if you dare try to hurt the ones I care about, then I will strike you down!"

X glared daggers at Vile, prompting the villain to actually step back in fear.

"And believe me, I will show you no mercy!"

As the four stood ready to fight, the tension was unbearable. Neither side moved, waiting to see what the other one would do. At least until something else caught their attention.

The sound of metallic footsteps on the ground below. X and Ruby ran to the edge of the ship to see what was happening, and it was a sight they did not want to see.

Reaverbots. Of all types and varieties. Harin's, Gorrubeshu's, Juraid's, Wolfon's and Mamoo's to name a few. An entire armies worth of the machines were on the march.

Straight towards Beacon Academy.

X and Ruby couldn't believe their eyes. This was no random attack. Someone was controlling the Reaverbots and making them attack the school!

They turned back to their opponents upon hearing the sound of a jet pack activating. Vile was holding on to Neo and hovering with her just a bit off to the side and above the airship.

Vile shouted back down to X. "I'm afraid that's our cue to leave! We have some other business to take care of. That was some impressive talk there though X. The next time we meet, I expect you to hold nothing back! See you then!"

"Oh, by the way! Neo, do the thing!"

Neo reached into her jacket pocket and took out a small trigger, waving it gently at X and Ruby, before pressing the switch with her thumb.

The ship's bridge suddenly exploded and burst into flames, rocking the whole ship and making X and Ruby stumble. Then the engines exploded, one after another as the ship took a gradually growing, downwards pitch.

"We have to leave, come on!" X ordered as he took Ruby by the hand and flew away from the ship. The two turned back to watch the ship, now engulfed in flames, smash into the ground below. They ahd been passing over the Emerald Forest at the time, so there were no civilian casualties at least.

But that was just one of the many battles that would take place before the day was done. Ruby and X looked ahead as they made their way to their friends, desperate to try and turn this situation around somehow.

 _ **HAHA! I HAVE SUNK YOUR SHIP! Roman Torchwick is dead, and Neo was partly responsible! So yes, she is working with Vile now. I always saw Neo as a bit of a crazy person, like Vile. While Vile is loud and proud however, Neo I saw as quiet, but just as crazy.**_

 _ **So yeah, Roman is dead, Vile and Neo got away, and there are Reaverbot's inbound!**_

 _ **This can only end well!**_

 _ **Until next time.**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	22. The Jello Man

_**Chapter 21, let the battle continue! After a few reviews of course!**_

 _ **Gravenimage: Glad you like how I dealt with Roman. Remember though, this story has few canon elements from season 3 onwards so, Salem is not a factor in this. Sorry to disappoint. :(**_

 _ **Akuma-Heika: Meh, true I guess, but the Atlesian army never seemed like a merciful kind of force.**_

 _ **On we go then!**_

Blake, Yang and Weiss made their way through the chaotic scene that had once been the Beacon courtyard. It was not even recognisable now. The pathways were torn up, pillars and debris lay strewn across the paths, and the normally cheerful students and visitors were replaced with people screaming and running for their lives.

"Come on girls, we have to get to the landing bays!" Yang shouted back to her friends.

"What about the Grimm attacking the school?" Blake queried, seeing large numbers of Beowulves charging forward.

"The soldiers can handle them! I hope..."

The Atlesian troops consisted of a mix of human soldiers and robotic knights, all armed with rapid fire energy weaponry. Yang was being proven correct with her hunch so far, as they easily shot down any Grimm that came near.

Then from seemingly nowhere, a blaster shot came from the opposite direction. Zooming past the girls, who all turned to see what was happening. It struck a soldier straight in his helmet and went right through. With a small groan he hit the ground.

"Incoming!" On soldier cried.

"Man down! Man down!"

More shots started to come in and several more soldiers were struck and killed. The rest ducked behind the fallen debris for cover and returned fire.

"Dammit! Spotter! Tell me what the hell is going on out there!" The commander ordered as a unit with advanced optics on his helmet scanned the tree line.

"The Grimm aren't our only problem here sir! We've got Reaverbots inbound!"

Sure enough, marching forward from out of the tree line, several lines of Gorrubeshu's were firing on the troops, their shields raised to give them cover.

"This is theta battalion, requesting reinforcements at the main school entrance! We are under attack from Reaverbots. Repeat, Reaverbots!"

" _All other battalions are defending and escorting civilians, we are unable to send any reinforcements at this time!"_

"Well then where the hell is the air support?"

" _Unsure sir, we lost contact will our main ships about 10 minutes ago!"_

The commander cursed his luck as he drew two rapid fire pistols and rallied his men.

"Listen up boys, we have to hold this position until reinforcements arrive! No retreats! No excuses!"

A young soldier spoke up. "Sir, we have too few men to withstand this! We need to fall back! We have no support!"

"Oh yes you do!"

Suddenly, Weiss ran past the soldiers, her weapon drawn and it's new energy blade activated. The soldiers watched on as the heiress started to block the shots with her energy coated rapier. She then used her speed glyph to dash right in front of the Gorrubeshu's.

They all turned to face her, computing what had just happened. Weiss narrowed her eyes before she slashed the nearest Gorrubeshu in half, a clean cut down the middle left a red hot slash line that then split and let the Reaverbot fall in two symmetrical halves.

Weiss wasted no time, moving straight on to the next one, stabbing it in the eye before using a glyph to push it away and send it crashing in to it's allies.

The soldiers now had a chance to regroup, watching Weiss cut the foe to ribbons with elegance and grace, almost like she was dancing as she swung her blade.

"Well come on! I'm not going to do it all for you!" she called to the troops.

"You heard her lads! Let's go!" The commander ordered as his men leapt over the top and charged forwards. The first line drawing energy swords and the rest firing their guns relentlessly.

"What is she doing?" Yang called to Blake.

"She's doing her job, and so should we! We'll take on the landing bay ourselves!"

 **Landing Bays**

The White Fang crafts witched their engines to landing mode, turning to allow the cargo side pods to be in line with the docking platforms. A few Atlesian Knights tried to shoot down the craft but their weapons were useless against the armoured hull of the ships. One of the craft that was still flying fired up it's Gatling gun armaments and swifty took down the robots.

The side pods then opened and several Grimm jumped out and made their way forwards. Another Bullhead was waiting nearby, filled with White Fang members as well as their leader; Adam Taurus. They listened for the Grimm, waiting for them to move forward and let the White Fang get straight off the landing bay.

"The Grimm have gone! Let's get moving!" one member said as the door whirred open.

The White Fang troops froze however, as they saw the Grimm they had sent out first lying across the bay in various states of dismemberment. They also saw Blake and Yang waiting for them. Yang cracking her knuckles in anticipation.

"You know, you really should have told us you were going to visit! This place is a mess!" Yang joked.

"Ah, Miss Xiao Long and... goodness! Blake, it has been far too long. How have you been?" Adam said.

Blake said nothing, she merely tightened her grip on her blades. Adam clicked his fingers, drawing the attention of the White Fang members around him.

"Bring them to their knees!"

Immediately, the loyal followers disembarked and drew their weapons, ready to end the lives of the Beacon students.

 **Beacon main entrance path**

Weiss and the soldiers were keeping the Reaverbots and Grimm at bay with surprising success. With Weiss leading the way and using her abilities to take out the majority of ranged units, the soldiers could safely fire and support her outside of cover.

"Their numbers are thinning sir!" The spotter informed his commander.

"Excellent! Keep it up boys!"

"Wait! Sir, I have something on scopes! It's huge and it's heading this way!"

As if those words were a cue of some kind, a large metallic arm, pointed like a spear, smashed in to the ground to Weiss's right hand side. A few soldiers cried out as they were knocked over by the force of the impact, before the arm slid around towards Weiss, crushing several soldiers as it moved along! Weiss leapt over it and landed back down safely.

"Pull your troops back commander!" Weiss ordered.

"Yes ma'am. Fall back! Fall back!" The commander called to his men, who withdrew from the giant attacker.

Weiss prepared herself as the sound of stomping came closer and closer from within the forest. The troops focused their guns on where the sound was, some of the rifles held by younger troops were visibly shaking.

Then, the stomping halted. The area was deathly quiet, save for the screeching of nearby birds and the sound of distant battle. Weiss straightened up her battle posture, scouring the tree line for any sign of activity, though she could see none.

Then, in the distance, she thought she saw a light. A red light, growing brighter. She gasped as she realised what it was and rolled out of the way. Mere milliseconds later, a red laser beam shot out of the trees, tearing down a nearby pillar and causing some of the younger soldiers to actually scream in terror.

"I didn't sign up for this!" One of them called out.

Weiss looked back to where the shot had come from. The trees were now scorched and only a few burning stumps remained where the laser had hit. Her mouth went agape as she saw the source of the stomping. A giant Reaverbot with six small legs at the bottom of it's vaguely humanoid form, as well as the giant club arms that had struck down her allies earlier.

A Hanmuru Doll.

Weiss and the soldiers readied themselves for a tough battle. This giant Reaverbot would be a difficult opponent to take on, or so they thought.

A bright flash of a blade blinded Weiss for a moment. Removing her arm from her eyes, she saw the Reaverbot's eye starting to fade and a molten line going at a diagonal across the middle of it's body. With a slow grinding sound that grated on her ears, the top half of the Hanmuru slid off it's leg sections before toppling onto it's side with an crash, throwing up dust as it did so.

Weiss and the soldiers took a brief sigh of relief, lowering their weapons. They then immediately raised hem again as a figure could be heard walking out of the forest. Heavy, clanking, mechanical footsteps that sounded all to familiar to Weiss.

"X?" she asked. "What are you doing in there? You almost gave these men heart attacks!"

"X?" A new voice said, making Weiss immediately tense up, despite the man's voice being calm and light hearted.

"Now that is a familiar name. X... yup, definitely rings a bell!"

The figure started to make his out of the trees and into their vision, stepping around the remains of the Hanmuru and moving in front of it for Weiss and the soldiers to see. He wore a white hooded cloak with purple inner lining and gold trim, the hood obscuring him from view.

"Guess that means you know him pretty well, huh princess?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow in suspicion at the figures rather rude, seemingly hostile naming of her. "We are acquainted, certainly. Why should that be of any concern to you?"

"Let's just say we had some... disagreements, in the past."

Weiss didn't need any more context than that, motioning for the soldiers to focus on the newcomer, she aimed her rapier at him.

"Woah, woah! You're a feisty little one aren't you?" The figure laughed, holding both hands up.

"You will stand down and surrender yourself to us. You are not going anywhere near X, and I doubt Ozpin would like it if I had to bring you back in several pieces." Weiss said in a cold tone.

"Is that the only thing I'm gonna get out of you?" The figure asked.

Weiss just narrowed her gaze at him before gesturing for two soldiers to apprehend him. The soldiers carefully approached, one from either side, their guns still aimed at the figure as they readied some handcuffs.

"Fine, we'll do this the hard way then." The figure smirked before grabbing his cloak and throwing it off himself.

Before Weiss could even get a good look at him however, she saw two purple energy blades being ignited and two screams from the soldiers she had sent forward. The figure dashed off as the men's corpses fell to the ground with smoking slash wounds.

(Insert music: Megaman X4 OST – Betrayal of Double)

Weiss gasped in horror, as did some of the soldiers. This... monster had just cut two innocent men down without hesitation, and he wasn't done yet!

"On the left! Watch- ARRRGH!"

As another of their comrades was cut down, the soldiers turned and fired at the figure, who was merely a blur as he dashed around.

"Shoot him! Shoot that bastard!" The commander ordered.

The troops turned on the spot as they tried to catch up to the enemy and blast him. Any obstacle that was in between the shots and their target was obliterated instantly! The figure ran behind a water fountain for cover, but a grenade shot rendered his protection useless. He ran on as bits of stone rained down on the ground.

Approaching one of the numerous stone pillars that lined the pathway to Beacon, he changed tactics and, rather than use it for cover, the figure ran up it. The shots still followed him, impacting on the decorative stonework, but failing to hit their target.

Upon reaching the top of the pillar, the figure launched himself off it, plummeting towards the ground, and landing right in the midst of the soldiers ranks. One soldier drew a blade and tried to engage the figure, but he was instantly cut down by a purple blade. Another tried to attack from behind, but the figure spun and cut him swiftly across the chest. The third one didn't even get a chance to fight back as he was grabbed by the figure and slammed head first into the concrete. He did not move any more after that.

Weiss and the commander were now the only two left standing. They backed away slowly, Weiss with her rapier still drawn and the commander with dual pistols. The figure was now standing still, so they could get a better look at him.

He was clearly a Reploid, hence his prior knowledge of X. He was tall and slim with a yellow colour scheme. Across his armour, on his feet, shoulders and head, were several spiked yellow protrusions. Most unusual of all was his body. It seemed to be a sort of purple liquid, contained within clear compartments on his arms, legs and chest. His marrow, red eyes and evil grin showed just how on the verge of insanity this Reploid was.

"Keep back Miss Schnee! I won't let him anywhere near you!" The commander said bravely.

"Schnee? Oh! That is interesting! My mistress has taken notice of your skills. Of how you and your friends dealt with Cinder. She thinks you would make a fine addition to our plans."

He readied his blades once more, the energy giving off a menacing hum.

"To be honest though, if this is the best you humans can do, I don't see why I should bother sparing you!

"You won't lay a finger on her!" The commander defiantly shouted.

"I wasn't asking for permission." The Reploid grinned.

The commander fired on the enemy, forcing him to deflect the shots with his blades. Seeing an opportunity, the commander rushed at the Reploid. He was too slow however and was grabbed by the throat and choked.

"*cough* *cough* Ack! Miss... Miss Schnee... run!"

Weiss was too horrified to hear his warnings. She couldn't believe what this monster was doing to these people, who had done him no wrong! She backed away, her whole body shaking.

She had stood against Grimm who would do equally horrific things, but they were primal, it was just their instinct. What made this enemy so horrifying, so fear inducing, was that he was fully aware of the suffering he was causing, and he was enjoying it! The sheer delight in his twisted smile, the spark in his eyes as he fulfilled that lust for blood! This was no man, nor Reploid.

This was a monster.

"For... God's sake... Weiss! Run!" The commander tried to get through to her again, in between the few gasps of breath he could get.

Double looked at him with annoyance. "Will you just shut up?" Using his blade, the Reploid stabbed the commander through the bottom of his head, the end of the blade protruding out of the top. The commander's struggling ceased instantly, his arms falling limp by his sides as blood trickled out from the bottom of his full covering helmet. The Reploid retracted his blade, and let the body fall in a heap beside him.

Weiss, as pale as she normally was, went practically sheet white. Their foes prior to this were capable of atrocities, but never anything like this. With unshed tears and a shaken voice, she spoke to her opponent.

"Who- Who are you?"

"Ah, that was fun, but now I think I'm ready for a real challenge." He said softly as he walked towards the heiress.

"Stay back! Don't come any closer! I'm warning you!" Weiss gasped and tried to steady her blade, though it still shook in her hand.

"That's it, that look of fear. It's a look I never get tired of. It's a look I've seen etched on the faces of so many. Those Maverick Hunters as I cut them down in their base, the innocents I terrorised as I made my way to the spaceport. But the best, the best by far, was the look on X's face when I betrayed him."

The figure continued to advance on the girl, who just kept hoping and praying there was still room for her to move back to.

"Then... then that means, you're one of X's old enemies, like Vile." Weiss shakily said.

"Just one of many kid. Not that you'll get to see the rest of us, or see what we have in store for this world."

The Reploid raised his blade to attack. "Goodbye Miss Schnee! See you in the afterlife!"

Weiss braced herself for that final, painful blow, before she heard a voice coming from his helmet.

" _STOP!"_

"What?"

…

""She's just a kid, look at her! What possible use could she have for us?"

…

"Hmmmm?"

…

"Fine."

Double started to walk away, as Weiss just watched him leave, still shocked. He turned to her once more and spoke.

"Looks like you got lucky today kid! Seems the lady up top has some use for you, but don't think this is the last you'll see of me. I'm going to cut you down sooner or later. She has promised me that much. It was fun playing with your little friends, but I've got something more important to take care of."

Weiss was still terrified at the sights she had just seen, but through that, some of her anger finally broke through.

"Who are you? Who the hell are you you monster?!" she shouted after him as he started to teleport away.

"X will be able to tell you all you need to know."

The Reploid turned back to Weiss with a sickening grin on his face.

"If you get back to him, tell him Double is looking to settle the score!"

 **Oh boy! Yes, he is back! But Double is not the only one our heroes have to look out for! Who else is working with him? And who is this mistress he is referring to?**

 **Find out next time!**

 **Until then**

 **TOODLE PIP!**


	23. School's Out

_**Chapter 22! Double has shown himself as one of the Aberrant Council members, but who else is working for them? And what about Cinder and her cronies? Let's find out!**_

 _ **Gravenimage: If you've played X4, you should know who Double is. Short, fat Reploid who betrayed the Hunters and slaughtered them all. Ring a bell?**_

 _ **Atom king: The big boss lady will be revealed soon. It's not Dark Elf though, I swear!**_

 _ **Pea Brain Writer: Glad to see I am helping! Yes, there is a reason why they were all sealed away, and it may not be what you were expecting. Feel free to type speculations if you want, I won't say if you are right or not but it would be interesting to hear them!**_

JNPR ran through the halls of Beacon Academy, working their way through the maze like structure to the top of the main tower, where Ozpin's office was. The route would normally be quite easy and accessible but the emergency protocol activation had shit down all power to the lifts, meaning the team had to work their way up through the various stairwells.

In addition to this, they were also clearing out any rooms that pupils were still in. Many had been ordered to simply remain out of sight until the emergency had passed, but with a planned evacuation now coming, they had to get everyone out as soon as possible.

Kicking through one of the doors to a classroom, Jaune found several students hiding under desks, those that had weapons had them drawn but did not fire on him.

"Come on! Everyone out now! Head for the East landing zone, they're evacuating Vale!"

The students looked at each other, some in disbelief. This was really happening? Beacon had fallen and couldn't be retaken. That's what they were hearing.

"Grab your weapons and head over there! Stick together and you should be able to fight off any attackers! Go now!" Jaune ordered before following the pupils out and regrouping with his team.

"That's another floor cleared." Pyrrha said. "How far away are we from Ozpin's office?"

Ren checked his scroll, he had been the only one to bother downloading a map on initiation day, since Nora kept getting lost and he had to guide her to classes.

"Three more floors, only one should have students on it. From there we just have to get up the main elevator shaft."

"Who the heck... puff... puts a work office... pant... up twenty floors of Oum forsaken stairs?" Nora panted, leaning on her hammer.

"Keep it together! We are almost at the top. Just a few more students to evacuate." Pyrrha tried to snap Nora out of her tired stupor.

"Hey!" Jaune said rather happily. "At least it's been kind of easy. Only a few Grimm no the first couple of floors, then it was smooth sailing!"

Suddenly, from the next floor, the group could hear glass smashing and a few screams of other students!

Ren shook his head. "You just had to say it, didn't you?"

(Insert music: Megaman ZX Tunes – Ogre Claw)

Hurrying up the stairwell, team JNPR found the corridor on the next floor empty. A split second later however, one of the large windows on the wall was smashed open, glass littering the floor and a howl of wind rushing through.

Rather than the barrage of Grimm that the team had expected, they were greeted by something far worse.

A Jakko Reaverbot flew into the corridor from the window, in fact, several did. These were not the team's main concern however. What was of concern was what they carried underneath them.

Horokko's.

As the Jakko's dropped their passengers into the building, JNPR readied themselves for combat. Horokkos were well known to be weak Reaverbots. Though this did not mean they should be underestimated, the team was feeling quietly confident.

Seeing the Beacon students, the Horokkos turned and got ready to attack. Instead of charging however, the Horrokkos began to shake violently, much to JNPR's confusion. Suddenly, they burst into flames, though not damaging themselves in any way. They then started to advance on JNPR.

"That's new!" Nora said, breaking the silence that had engulfed the them.

"Just be careful not to get burned!" Jaune instructed his team, using his shield to block the heat radiating off the Horokkos.

"Jaune! Over there!" Ren pointed to the smashed windows.

Crawling in through them on six small legs, was a horde of Kuruguru's. They moved quickly, their legs scuttling across the floor with speed and their small jaw like parts gnashing away at the air. Jaune moved to the front to block them with his shield.

"Pyrrha, give me a hand here!"

"Got it!" Pyrrha moved up to assist Jaune, or she would have if not for the Spartan warrior being practically bowled over by something. Getting back up, she heard something very odd.

She heard laughing. Almost like a child laughing. But that didn't make any sense. Then she saw who was responsible for it. A small Reaverbot that almost seemed to resemble a child in a pink dress. A Sukaritt.

It took a moment to look at Pyrrha, tilting slightly in curiosity before letting out another child like laugh and skating off again into one of the nearby classrooms. Normally that would not be a problem, but the screams from within the room made Pyrrha sprint away from her group and into the classroom.

"Pyrrha! Wait!" Jaune called to her, but the Spartan girl was already gone.

Jaune was about to give chase after her before a burning Horokko leapt towards him. Hitting him on the shoulder, Jaune fell back, his arms covering his face to block the intense heat. Only after hitting the ground did he realise, to his dismay, that the Reaverbot had set his hoodie on fire at the shoulder.

He quickly beat it down with the his hand but this left him vulnerable, an advantage that a nearby Kuruguru was all too happy to exploit. Leaping forward past Nora and Ren, who were pre occupied with their own fights, the Kuruguru hit Jaune and brought him to the ground. The Reaverbot sat on top of him, it's jaws gnashing closer to Jaune's face, though he was able to muster enough strength to hold the ancient robot back.

"Get your stubby metal legs off him!" Nora cried before hitting the Kuruguru with a swing that sent it shooting off down the corridor before landing on it's back and wiggling it's legs in a futile attempt to get back up.

Ren pulled the grateful young knight up to his feet. Before getting a chance to thank him however, Jaune pushed past Ren and swung downwards with his blade, cleaving a Fire Horokko clean in half!

"Guess that makes us even." Ren smiled.

"You kidding? I still owe you like twenty times over."

"You've been keeping count?"

"What can I say? I'm an honest guy!" Jaune shrugged before blocking another enemy strike.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha was still giving chase to the Sukaritt. It darted around the halls with surprising elegance, occasionally looking back to laugh at the red haired warrior before dashing off again.

As Pyrrha started to catch up to the ancient machine, it rounded a corner and disappeared from view. Pyrrha stopped herself just in time before going around the corner as she heard the sound of metal being ripped apart, followed by a small explosion.

"Reinforcements?" Pyrrha though to herself. "I though the whole academy was blocked off?"

Pyrrha grabbed her blade and shield, fiddling them between her hands slightly as she swung around the corner, weapons armed. Straight after though, her eyes widened and she froze.

There, standing over the burning and torn wreckage of the Sukaritt, was Cinder. She turned slowly to face Pyrrha, a sinister smile upon her face. She crushed her heel down on the Reaverbot's remains as a small fiery glow appeared in her eyes.

"Well now. This is certainly unexpected." Cinder said softly. "I was hoping for the Grimm to have torn you to shreds! But, as I'm sure you are painfully aware, you are too late to stop what I have begun."

Pyrrha said nothing, merely steeled herself and readied to strike at this vile woman, who had caused so much suffering and destruction.

"You actually think you have a chance? Oh, that is so cute." Cinder smirked before giggling slightly. "I haven't spent all this time planning, scheming, training and destroying, just to be stopped by some Hunter with a few trophies to her name."

Cinder clicked her fingers and small wisps of darkness appeared from the floor. From these, a Grimm emerged. A Geist. Ghost like in looks, with wavy tendrils of darkness for it's lower half and a white Grimm mask with a single glowing eye.

"I'll leave you a toy to play with, now if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment with your headmaster."

Cinder calmly turned and started to walk away, heading towards the elevator to Ozpin's office. And leaving Pyrrha with a fight on her hands that she really didn't need.

Instead of attacking her however, the Geist glided silently off to the side, heading through the open door of one of the classrooms. It never took it's eye off the girl for a moment, Pyrrha doing the same thing. She watched as it passed through the door and left the hall in silence.

Pyrrha watched on for a few moments where the Grimm had just been. With no sign of activity, she started to run towards the elevator, until...

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Pyrrha stopped dead in her tracks. A scream from one of her fellow students, and it came from that classroom! Pyrrha took one look back to the elevator, seeing that Cinder was already near the top. With frustration, she headed to help her peer in the classroom. Cinder would have to wait.

Bashing the door aside, Pyrrha ran straight into the student who was screaming earlier. The two stumbled slightly as they hit each other before noticing what had happened.

Pyrrha scanned the room, she could not see anything out of the ordinary, but her fellow student must have been panicking for some reason. Not to mention that Grimm don't just leave their prey alone, they would hunt it relentlessly. So the question remained, where was the Grimm?

"Quick! Let's go before that Grimm comes back!"

"Hold on a minute." Pyrrha stopped the student in her tracks, grabbing her by the arm to prevent her leaving. "What happened to it? Where did it go?"

"It... it just vanished. It moved to the middle of the room and went through the floor."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "And it didn't do anything else? It didn't tear up the room or anything like that?"

The student seemed to look at Pyrrha like she had two heads. "No, it didn't! All that matter is it's gone now and I want to get out of here before it decides to come back!"

With those words spoken, the student ran out of the classroom and headed for the evacuation point, leaving Pyrrha in the empty classroom.

The room was completely still, not even the sounds of battle outside made much impact. The only sound that Pyrrha heard was the door clicking shut as it closed back over. Pyrrha scoured the room, still firmly believing that the Grimm had not just went away. Seeing no evidence to back up her thought, she made her way to the door.

She twisted the knob and pulled.

Nothing.

Confused, she pulled a little harder. The door rattled on it's hinges a bit, but would not budge. Slightly panicked now, she bashed at the door, hitting with her shoulder to bear the brunt of her strikes. It didn't matter though, the door was stuck fast.

She took a step back, looking for what may have happened to make this obstacle appear before her now. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw dark wisps coming from the bottom of the door.

As it turned out she was right, that Grimm hadn't just left.

(Insert music: Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep – Extreme Encounters)

The Geist decided to make it's unwelcome return. Phasing out of the door, it stared Pyrrha straight in the eyes, before pushing itself out of the door and circling around the room. It took a look back down at Pyrrha, before scanning the room around her. Why though? There was nothing of value here surely?

The Geist locked it's eye onto something rather strange (to Pyrrha at least).

A bookcase.

Gliding down smoothly towards it, the Geist prepared to vanish once more. Pyrrha tried to intercept it with a stab to it's body but, to her dismay, the blade simply passed through it as though it was never there. Small dark wisps encircled her weapon briefly as it was withdrawn. Pyrrha shook them off as the Geist vanished into the bookcase.

The whole case, books included, started to give off dark wisps of energy. Pyrrha gasped as she started to see the books floating out of the shelf and circling around the room.

As she watched the marvel happening around her, several books started to fly towards her! The first were unseen, and hit her with a fair amount of force. Pyrrha made a quick mental note to tell Professor Port to buy less hardback books in future. Raising her shield, she blocked the next wave that came at her. Any that got past her shield were met with a swift slice from Milo in blade form. Pages started to litter the floor around her, it seemed that chopping on of the books apart rendered it useless.

A few books still hovered around her. Switching Milo to it's rifle form, she took careful aim and fired one precise shot at each book, the fluttering pages that fell around the room told her that she didn't need any more shots than that.

Realising it had run out of ammunition for it's current form, the Geist withdrew from the bookcase, making itself visible once more. Pyrrha would not miss another chance to hit it. With one more true shot from her rifle, Pyrrha hit the Geist perfectly on it's mask. The Grimm recoiled in pain as the mask cracked significantly.

"One more shot should do it." Pyrrha thought, before cursing her luck as the Grimm possessed another object. This time, it was a supply cabinet. Pyrrha though she would not have much to worry about, until she saw what was being stored in there...

Dust.

Like the books before them, the vials of dust began to encircle the room, waiting to be ordered to strike the young prodigy down.

Pyrrha decided not to wait this time, taking advantage of the time given to her, she fired at as many vials as she could. As she hit each, they exploded into their elemental theme. A red vial exploded in a great ball of fire, the blue one she hit froze into a ball of jagged ice crystals and fell to the ground before shattering apart.

The last one she hit was one she regretted though. A jar of white dust. As she shot it, it exploded into a bright light, forcing Pyrrha to shield her eyes from the intense glow. Seeing an opportunity, the Geist had another vial of blue dust strike Pyrrha, only this time she could not block it!

Pyrrha was engulfed in a cloud of sub zero dust,. Opening her eyes, she realised her entire lower half was encased in a frozen prison! She struggled to get free, a few cracks and splinters of cold coming off, but the ice was too thick.

The Geist now reappeared and started to gather the other dust vials, aiming them at Pyrrha in the hopes that one gigantic volley would be enough to finish her off. Pyrrha realised this and began using Milo to try and break the ice that trapped her. It did indeed start to crack, but nowhere near fast enough.

The Geist lined up the dust vials, taking aim. With a swing of it's arm, it fired the dust vials forward. Pyrrha raised her shield and braced for the impact.

 ***KABOOM***

A huge cloud of red dust and fire shot up from the middle of the room. Smoke and dust was flung outwards, blowing past the Geist who just floated nearby, waiting to see the burnt up remains of it's victim.

As the dust started to clear, the Geist saw something glistening. A glisten that seemed to come from an armour plate! Hovering down closer, it picked up the small piece of metal.

A bronze headpiece, just like the one Pyrrha was wearing.

The Geist stared at it, stroking it gently. Grimm are known to be drawn from the negative emotions in peoples hearts, and this Geist could sense much of these as a result of the Huntress it had just defeated. The sadness her friends would feel from her death, the anger they would use to get vengeance. It thought of all these emotions and fed off them, giving it the power to keep on going.

Then, from out of the settling dust, a silhouette could barely be seen and indeed, the Geist failed to see it, until it was too late.

As soon as it turned around, Milo in javelin form, was stabbed through it's mask, shattering it. The pieces fell to the floor, as the body started to fade away into nothingness. Holding the weapon, was Pyrrha. Slightly singed but otherwise fine.

"I believe that belongs to me." She said, taking the headpiece from the Geist before it vanished completely.

With the Grimm defeated, the door returned to normal and Pyrrha was able to exit. Going back into the hallway, she started to make her way towards the elevator before her scroll rang. Taking a look at the caller, she saw Jaune's picture and answered it.

"Pyrrha? Thank Oum you answered. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine Jaune." Pyrrha smiled, still catching her breath from the last fight somewhat.

"We've got everyone out of the school, I think you better come and help us out front, it's a lot worse out here than we imagined."

Pyrrha took a look outside the window, seeing the destruction all around and the Hunters being surrounded by Grimm and Reaverbots. She lowered her scroll and sighed to herself. She looked up to the top of the tower, seeing several flashes and explosions in Ozpin's office.

Steeled and calm, she spoke into her scroll once more. "Jaune, you'll need to hold on without me for a little longer."

"What? What's going on in there? What's happening? Pyrrha!"

"I'm sorry Jaune."

Sadly, she put her scroll away. Pyrrha narrowed her gaze as she saw Cinder attacking with various fire based magic strikes.

"I have a date with destiny."

 _ **OH SNAP! We all know what is coming up! Cinder vs Pyrrha! Will it go the same way as cannon? What about the rest of the Aberrant Council?**_

 _ **Tune in next time to find out!**_

 _ **Until then**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	24. Cruel Destiny

_**Right, so Pyrrha is nearly ready to fight Cinder, and the rest of the team are fighting across Beacon. I think it's time we also caught up with two characters we haven't really seen much of. Gotta tie up those loose ends y'know!**_

 _ **Gravenimage: Yup, that's the one! Though he won't be nearly as easy to beat in this story!**_

 _ **Atom king: Spoilers!**_

 _ **Pea Brain Writer: I have already decided what will happen, her fate is decided. But tell me Pea Brain Writer: Do you believe in destiny?**_

 _ **DreadAngelus: That chapter is approaching soon, whether that is what will happen or not, wait and see!**_

 _ **YoungIcarus662: I would make a harem, but Cyanide took all my girls!**_

 _ **Mangahero18: I'll be honest, I am not taking this story as a serious novel sort of thing. It was just a little idea I had that was coming to fruition. I agree, some plot points are rushed and may not make sense, but then again... it's fanfiction, it doesn't have to be like the canon material.**_

 _ **Anywho, on we go!**_

Ozpin hit the glass floor hard, causing small cracks to appear in it as he did so. Ozpin was badly beaten with burns across his body and more bleeding wounds than he could count, though his aura saved him from passing out, for now at least.

"You're losing your edge Ozpin." Cinder smirked as she readied another fireball in her hand. "Giving up the battles and becoming a headmaster has made you soft."

Cinder stood beside him before placing a sharp glass heel on his chest. She bent down closer to him, raising his chin up with the end of her blade.

"I'm going to ask you one more time. Where is she?"

Ozpin groaned as Cinder put more pressure on his chest. He struggled to get the words out, but remained somehow clam and dignified as he did so.

"I... cannot tell you... where to find... what does not... exist."

Cinder frowned and pressed her heel down further. Ozpin cried out before speaking again.

"I don't know what you heard, or who told you about them, but it's all a myth. The four maidens do not exist. You've done all this for nothing."

"Hardly. Even if the maiden's power IS just a fairy tale, I've still brought Beacon to it's knees! Power or no power, this world will be torn down, and we will remake it into one of our own design."

"That's enough!"

Cinder turned around to see Pyrrha standing in front of the lift. She had a look of infinite anger on her face.

"You have caused enough suffering today Miss Fall. Step away from him, I will not let you hurt anyone else!"

Cinder gave a mock curtsey. "Pyrrha Nikos, I'm surprised you managed to get past my Grimm, but where is the rest of your team?"

"Safe. That is all you need to know. This is between you and me, Cinder!"

"Of course." Cinder rolled her eyes. "Let me just take care of this and I'll be right with you."

She then threw a powerful fire shot at Ozpin. Realising the danger, Pyrrha threw her shield and used her semblance to pull it upright. The fireball hit it and exploded instantly. Without a second thought, she pulled her shield back towards Cinder, who acrobatically leapt over it and moved to the edge of the room.

"You know, it's getting far to crowded in here, and it's such a nice night. It would be a shame to waste it." With that said, Cinder made her way up to the roof of the tower, awaiting Pyrrha's arrival.

Pyrrha ran to Ozpin. "Sir, are you alright?"

Groaning as he was helped to his feet, the headmaster rested on his cane and gave a kind smile.

"I will be fine. Thank you, Miss Nikos."

Pyrrha started to climb up to the roof when Ozpin called her.

"Mis Nikos! Though I have very confidence in you, I must warn you that Cinder is not like any foe you have faced before. She is willing to go further than anyone I have known. I urge you, please be careful."

With a nod, Pyrrha ascended, breathing deeply to calm herself as she moved into the cold night air.

She couldn't help but gasp in horror at the sight. The academy burned around her, throwing plumes of black smoke into the sky. The inky darkness was highlighted only by the explosions and the white bones of the Grimm monsters. The horrors around her were accompanied by an equally haunting soundtrack, consisting of screams, roars and battle noise.

Cinder held out her arms victoriously. "First Beacon, then all of Remnant! Take a good hard look Miss Nikos. This is the future of your world!"

Pyrrha shook her head, drawing her weapons and entering a battle stance. She slowed her breathing and calmed herself, ready for the fight of her life.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

 _ **Cliff near the Emerald Forest**_

The clifftop just north of Beacon gave a perfect view. On any normal day, this spot would be littered with children playing, lovers meeting and students relaxing with the cool breeze passing over them. On this night however, there was none of that.

Emerald and Mercury cut down the last of the soldiers that were stationed on the cliff edge. They had been placed up there in sniper positions to help support the defenders, they couldn't do that any more.

"That should do it. There's no way they can hold off all those Grimm by themselves without support." Mercury said cockily, arms behind his head.

"Agreed." Emerald coldly spoke.

She kicked one of the soldiers bodies onto it's front, looking into his dead eyes. "This is what Remnant was counting on to defend them from the Grimm and the White Fang? How pathetic."

"Hee hee hee, impressive. You both have great skill. It is such a shame to see it wasted."

Emerald and Mercury turned, weapons drawn to see who was addressing them.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Emerald demanded.

(Insert music: Megaman X7 – Fate – Theme of Sigma)

The figure stepped forward from the darkness towards them. He wore a hooded cloak of some description, but cast it aside as he began talking Emerald and Mercury.

He seemed to be a bald, older sounding man. He had a tall, muscular purple body suit covered by a green chestplate with a round orange crystal, a tall red collar and silver shoulder plates. He also wore brown boots and red gauntlets with protruding spikes around the wrist area. He had two defining facial scars running across his entire head, as well as a small crystal in the middle of his forehead. His eyeballs were black with glowing, empty irises.

"Don't you find Cinder and the White Fang to be something of a nuisance?" He queried.

Mercury and Emerald both seemed surprised by this line of questioning. The two looked at each other briefly before Emerald spoke.

"They can be a bit... constricting at times. The White Fang themselves are often nothing more than rag tag mercenaries, but Cinder has her plan and we will continue on with it, regardless of how long it takes."

"What does it matter to you?" Mercury asked.

"To me? Let's just say my mistress and I sympathise with your situation. You both posses incredible power, but with Cinder, your talents are frankly wasted."

"Maybe they are, but what do you and your 'mistress' have to do with it?"

The figure took a small bow. "I am Sigma. A member of the ancient race known as Reploids, the very same race that X is a part of."

"You know that pile of scrap metal then?" Mercury asked, punching his fist into his palm as if looking for an excuse to fight.

"He is far more than that but yes, I know him all too well. Judging from your description of him, it seems we hold a common enemy. It is for that reason that I come before you now. Whilst the plan we have for this world does not have humans as a... major part of it, I am perfectly willing to have a few exceptions. I see you two as having the potential necessary to help bring our ideal to fruition."

"You're asking us to join your little group, is what I am taking from all of this." Emerald simplified Sigma's dialogue.

"Precisely. I am offering you the chance to become better than humans and faunus. We have technologies far beyond what you can comprehend. We could enhance you, make you the strongest humans who ever lived! You would become gods alongside us and rule over a new, utopian, Remnant!"

Emerald and Mercury looked at each other, Emerald raising an eyebrow at Mercury before the two erupted in laughter.

"Listen here, what was it again? Sigma. I don't think you quite understand who you are dealing with? Cinder and her plans have been in motion for years, no one can stop them! Not you, not X and certainly not those Hunters." Emerald replied.

"Am I to take that, as a refusal of our offer?"

"We not be the good guys, but we have our standards. Cinder and the White Fang may not be ideal, but we proved our loyalty to Cinder and we don't plan on giving that up for an outlandish promise from some guy we just met. Now hows about you just run along before we break into pieces?"

Sigma seemed to be slightly angered by the response, gritting his teeth before smiling once again.

"Well, that is disappointing. My mistress had hoped you would have had a bit more vision than that. Typical humans. If you will not join us, then I will have to enact our backup plan."

Sigma held out one of his hands and small spirals began to appear around it, consisting of several quick changing zeroes and ones. The numbers extended along from his hand until a gigantic blade materialised. It was a black metallic blade from the hilt upwards, made from overlapping pieces of metal. At the halfway point however, it changed into a green, almost holographic design, with several metal pieces orbiting it in rings.

"As I said, you both have great power and skill, but if they are not used by us, they can be used against us. You are now possible barriers to our plans, and that is something we cannot have."

Sigma raised his blade with ease as Emerald and Mercury got themselves set to fight.

(Insert music: Megaman X8 – Vs Sigma)

Sigma started to pace towards the, His heavy footsteps breaking the silence of the night. Emerald fired on Sigma with her dual revolvers, not wanting him to get too close. The shots did hit Sigma, but they merely pinged off him, embedding themselves in the ground and trees nearby as they ricochet off his armour. Emerald reloaded and fired volley after volley, getting noticeably more concerned as he got closer.

As Emerald reloaded again, she was suddenly hit in the hand by a small energy shot. She dropped both her weapons as she held her injured left hand, small tears in her eyes as the burn that the shot had left made its mark on her hand. Looking up, she saw Sigma holding his free hand up, small wisps of blue smoke coming from it, she guessed that was where the shot had come from.

"Useless. Please don't tell me I misjudged your abilities." Sigma mocked.

Emerald narrowed her eyes and growled in frustration, though she had to admit he was correct, bullets did nothing against Sigma and he had just nullified her efforts in one shot!

Mercury now ran forward and attempted to strike Sigma with a roundhouse kick. There was a deafening clang as his own metal leg hit that of Sigma's but as Mercury looked up, he saw that Sigma remained unphased. Mercury then spun and tried a back kick, hoping for more force with the blow, again though, no damage was done.

Frustrated, Mercury went for a butterfly kick, raising his legs high so he could strike Sigma in the face. Sigma allowed this to hit him! The Reploid's face moving slightly with the momentum of the strike but nothing more.

Mercury gave an annoyed sigh. "Come on man! Just go down!"

Since it seemed to be more effective, Mercury tried another strike to the face with a butterfly kick. This time however, Sigma caught his leg in mid air. He hoisted the boy up, raising his arm so that Mercury's face was level with his. Sigma leaned forward, grinning widely as he stared into Mercury's terrified eyes.

"Mercury!" Emerald gasped as she saw her partner struggling against Sigma's hold. Fighting through the burning pain, she picked up her weapons and made for them.

"Pitiful, you shouldn't have even tried such a strategy." Sigma sneered at the prey he had caught.

Mercury, still light hearted as ever, gave a shrug as he swung from Sigma's grasp. "Sitting out ain't really my style."

"Unfortunately, you won't have a choice!"

Sigma thrust his sword into the earth beside himself, allowing his other hand to be free. He then grabbed Mercury's other leg before starting to tighten his grip. Mercury looked at his legs, hearing the sound of metal bending and buckling. Drops of hydraulic fluid from his legs started to drip onto his face and air began to hiss out of one of the mechanisms.

Satisfied, Sigma tossed Mercury aside. The boy landed face first on the ground. Rolling onto his back, he tried to get back up but his legs wouldn't let him! Straining slightly as he used his arms to push his body up, Mercury saw that his prosthetic legs were just piles of broken scrap. No way they would be working now! He was out of the fight.

Emerald arrived just after this, leaping straight at Sigma with her sickles ready to pierce through his chest. With a furious cry of anger, she dived towards him.

Sigma didn't even have to try hard for this move. Reaching up, he caught Emerald as she was about to strike, his giant hand dwarfing her form as he held her aloft. She struggled with all her might to get free, slashing at Sigma's hand desperately with her weapons. Sigma tutted and shook his head before throwing Emerald away from himself. She rolled and landed just beside Mercury.

Emerald shook as she strained to get back up. Sigma gave a small grin and teleported away, just as Emerald was looking at him.

"Where did he- GUH!"

Emerald never got the chance to finish her sentence. Sigma only needed to use the very tip of his blade and it was enough to pierce a wound deep into the girls back. Small trails of blood dribbled from Emeralds mouth as Sigma pulled the blade out and let her fall forward.

(Insert music: Megaman X8 – Vs Sigma Demo)

"Shit, no!" Mercury tried to make his way over to his partner, cursing at his now useless legs before crawling over beside her quickly. He rolled her onto her back and tried to make sure she kept her focus on him. That was the most important thing, if she gave into unconsciousness, she could very well die.

"Come on Emerald, stay with me!" Mercury told her, tapping the girls face gently to try and get through to her.

Emerald did indeed look to her partner, but her pupils were small and panicked, her breathing was shallow and the wound itself was bleeding profusely. She smiled slightly as she saw Mercury and he let out a sigh of relief.

The two turned to face Sigma again, his blade was pointed straight at them and he laughed quietly to himself.

"Your loyalty to your cause is admirable, the same cannot be said for your fighting skills. I could have helped you with that, you could have become invincible, but that can't happen now."

Mercury and Emerald just lay there, waiting for Sigma to put an end to them. To their surprise however, he withdrew his blade, the weapon disappearing into the data numbers and then to nothing.

"You may have rejected our offer, but I am feeling... merciful. I may still have some use for the two of you and it couldn't hurt to bolster our forces a bit."

Two Sharukurusu Reaverbots teleported in beside Emerald and Mercury, standing to attention as they awaited instructions.

"So, you're the one who called those tin cans into the fight."

"Very perceptive, boy." Sigma replied before addressing the Reaverbots. "Take them back to Neo Arcadia and get the girl stabilised. Throw the boy in one of the holding cells. When we return we shall begin the upgrading process."

Emerald was hoisted gently by one of the Reaverbots and a small breather mask was placed on her to make sure she stayed alive. The other picked Mercury up quite roughly and held him tight, despite Mercury's struggles.

"It is so rare that I would let humans such as you live. Enjoy my mercy." Sigma said in a mix of sarcasm and venom.

With those final words, the Reaverbots teleported away, taking Mercury and Emerald with them. Sigma paced over to the edge of the cliff, watching the destruction unleash itself across the school grounds.

Then, in the corner of his eye, he saw something. Something was falling towards the school entrance, bright jets of flame coming from it, slowing the objects decent. Sigma smiled as he watched the object touch down near the arena. He placed a hand over his ear and spoke into a com link.

"He is just outside the arena, now is your chance. Draw him in and remember, we want him alive."

Standing atop the arena roof, another of the hooded figures stood, his arms folded as he watched the humans and faunus being evacuated from the arena. In the middle though, seemingly shouting instructions, was a young girl. Her ginger hair and green and black attire... it was her.

She was the one X had befriended, she would be the way to get X's attention and bring him here. The figure admitted, it would be a shame to let such a life go to waste but he had orders.

The figure prepared to leap into the arena and begin his attack. Before doing so however, he drew his weapon.

A long, green energy sabre.

 _ **Hold tight guys, things are going to get bumpy! We are coming close to the finale of the Battle of Beacon! Just hang on a little longer, I know you can do it!**_

 _ **Until next time!**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	25. A Bit of Byte

_**A few more things to be cleared up, then we are close to the finale of the battle! It's been a long ride but we are nearly there!**_

 _ **Gravenimage: Just hold on in there, that will be revealed soon enough!**_

 _ **Atom king: Oho! You think Sigma is bad, keep in mind he is not in charge this time! If he is bad, the true villains are much worse! Who are they? All will be revealed soon!**_

 _ **Pea Brain Writer: Yeah, weird to see Sigma taking a subordinate role isn't it? By the way, that question was just a reference to the show, wasn't expecting a whole essay! Interesting viewpoint though, made for a great philosophical discussion with my friends. Thank you for that!**_

The headmaster's office made for quite a view. It's dizzying heights giving the observer a view that some could only dream of. Now though, the headmaster thought of it as something of a nightmare.

Sat in the seat behind his desk in the now ruined office, Ozpin could only look on on silent despair at the battle erupting throughout his school. He had taken it upon himself to train his students for this moment, now he could only watch on as they did their duty.

He grimaced slightly as a twitch of movement pulled at one of his many wounds. Looking above to the ceiling, he could hear Cinder and Pyrrha fighting on the roof. It was an intense battle indeed. Much as he wanted to be there to aid his pupil, he knew he was in no condition to fight. So Ozpin sat, letting his aura heal him and trying to see how all this would end.

He let out a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair, eyes closed. He let the feeling of his aura wash over him, like cool water tending to his wounds and easing their pain. A small smile grew on his face as it did so.

Until he turned his head to the elevator doors.

(Insert music: Megaman Zero 3 Remastered – Creer and Prier)

Three figures stood there. To of them hooded and the other being the Reploid scientist, Gate, though Ozpin did not know him.

Ozpin shakily stood up, though in his condition it was understandable why. He looked dead serious, his eyes narrowed as he adjusted his glasses.

"Most people would tend to make an appointment before barging into my office. I take it you are not just here for a chat?"

The first hooded figure spoke, a girl. "Professor Ozpin. Headmaster of Beacon Academy and one of the many Guardians of Remnant. Like your ancestors before you, you have taken it upon yourself to bear the burden. You train warriors to keep the world safe. A world that rightfully belongs to me."

"I don't believe we have had the 'pleasure' of being introduced, Miss...?"

"Who I am is of no importance to you. I have no reason to exchange pleasantries. I just came here to make sure this task was handled properly. Despite your weak appearance, I know the power you hold, Ozpin."

Ozpin tapped his fingers on his cane, ready to retaliate at a moments notice. How did this woman know him? And who was she?

"I have done my research." She said, somewhat answering his query. "I have waited thousands of years for this moment, I would not just rush into a fight so recklessly. Anyway, you have wasted enough of my time."

Instantaneously, Ozpin felt a sharp pain go right through him. Looking down slowly, he saw a large, two handed blade, pierced right through his back and protruding out of the front. It was red with his blood which dripped onto the floor. He felt a foot push against his back and kick him off the blade. With no strength left in him, Ozpin fell to the floor, his vision fading as his blood left him and death's embrace drew near.

"Excellent work, brother." The girl said as the other hooded figure, still with blade in his hands, walked out from behind Ozpin and stood beside Gate.

The girl moved over to Ozpin and placed a white, gloved finger over his lips. "Ssssh, I know, it's terrifying. The loneliness of having to face the unknown on your own, but worry not. Your students will be joining you soon enough."

With that Ozpin, let out a final sigh as the girl placed a hand on his forehead. Her hand ignited with purple energy that slowly covered Ozpin. His body grew bright purple for a split second, almost like a flash. Then, he slowly disintegrated, the purple ashes fading away into nothing.

The girl slowly rose, noticing Gate watching her with slight fear in his eyes.

"Gate, you may begin, then we shall tend to our little upstart."

With a quick nod, Gate pressed a holographic button on his wrist and allowed a machine to teleport in. It was around double his height, but was long and thin like a spear. It stood on four thin legs and had two rings, one large, one small hovering over the tip. Gate then took out a large amount of the Grimm essence, calling it from seemingly nowhere, before placing it into the device.

"Uploading DNA samples."

The device started to glow, wisps of dark energy forming around it as the rings began to spin. Small arcs of electricity shot from the rings to the pole in the centre as Gate watched a panel on the device intently.

"The DNA sample is sufficient." Gate told the girl. "It will take approximately 10 minutes for the DNA to align with the pulse signal."

"More than enough time to remove our other problems. Stay with the device Gate and ensure nothing interrupts it. Brother, come with me, the battle draws to a close and there is still much to be done."

 _ **Beacon Academy – Evacuation Area**_

A few soldiers watched on as citizens were loaded onto the airships. Most were more confused than anything else since the battle had not reached the city, thankfully.

Turning to the sound of footsteps approaching, the soldiers saw team JNPR (minus the P) running up to them.

"Sir! The evacuation is proceeding smoothly, this is the last group of civilians to be escorted."

"Sir?" Jaune queried.

"Yes sir! General Ironwood has informed us that all Hunters are to be seen as commanding officers for this battle. Our unit is at your command."

Jaune had to take a moment to comprehend all this. So now he was in charge of military units, no pressure then! Then, he noticed the obvious.

"Wait a minute, where's Pyrrha?" He asked Ren and Nora, the latter replying with a shrug.

"Sir!" The soldier that Jaune was talking to turned to see his comrade pointing up at the Beacon tower. "We have a firefight on the tower roof!"

Taking out a pair of high tech binoculars, he looked towards the roof of the tower, zooming in on the action. He then passed them over to Jaune.

"Look familiar?" he asked.

Jaune held the binoculars up to his eyes, not much could be seen through the dust and smoke but, he saw Pyrrha for a split second and that was all the proof he needed. To make matters worse, he saw his beloved teammate fighting Cinder and she was losing!

"Come on, we gotta go help her!" Jaune ordered, throwing the binoculars back to the soldier as they started to make a run back to the academy.

It was by pure chance that Nora happened to look up again, giving a small gasp at the incoming danger.

"Hit the deck!" she cried, leaping into Ren and pushing him out of the way with her. Jaune hopped back and was thrown by the force of something massive landing in front of him. He held his head and groaned slightly as he got back up and the debris settled around him.

" _Sorry, we can't let you do that!"_ Two voices spoke in unison, one was deep and tranquil sounding, the other was level pitch but had that twist of crazy in it.

(Insert music: Megaman Zero 4 Remastered – On the Edge)

"After all..." The deep voice said.

"...the fun is just beginning!" The other finished.

To team JNR's surprise, the two that stood in their path were Reploids! The normal voiced one was a regular sized humanoid Reploid. He wore mostly yellow armour with blue highlights on his feet and hands, as well as white on his thighs, upper arms and the tips of his feet. He had pure white eyes and his other facial features were masked by a white metal covering. He held a large shield with a blue crystal in the middle and a gold decorated arch on the top.

The deep voiced one was much larger, so much so that the small Reploid could fit on his shoulder with ease! He wore mostly red armour with blue hand and foot sections. His belly area was coloured grey and a large golden arch went over his head from one shoulder to the other.

The soldier's drew their weapons, aiming them at the two Reploids before Ren held out an arm to stop them.

"You have the last of the civilians on board?" He asked.

"Yes sir!"

"Then go get them and yourselves out of here, this is our fight."

Hesitantly at first, the soldier backed away before saluting and motioning for his squad to fall back. As the Bullheads started to leave, JNR eyed up their opponents, who regarded them cooly.

"It really is touching that you want to help your friend but you see, our mistress has some important things to do in that tower and frankly, she has enough problems with Cinder and that Spartan girl without you showing up."

"The big guy's right! I can see you are spoiling for a fight though. So how's about you stick around? It's been way too long since I got my hands dirty!"

The small one cracked his knuckles and neck while the large Reploid marched up alongside him. JNR regrouped in front of them.

"If you don't wanna get turned into scrap metal like your Reaverbot buddies, I suggest you get lost!" Nora taunted.

"Ooooo! The little meatbags have some fight in them! Sweet!" The small one chortled, rubbing his hands together. "Ready to play, Byte?"

"Ready and eager, Bit!"

(Insert music: Megaman ZX Tunes – Rockin' On!)

Bit was the first to strike, dashing towards JNR as he drew a pink energy sabre, the blade curving around him due to the speed of his dash. He had picked his target already and went straight for Ren, who he deemed to be the fastest of the group, thus requiring his ability more than Jaune or Nora.

He clashed into Ren's Stormflower blades, the Beacon student was holding him back with difficulty, using bith of his weapons in unison to hold Bit's sabre in place. Ren's arms shook as Bit used his superior Reploid strength to press him back.

"Ah, it seems you have upgraded your weaponry! I thought my sabre would cut right through your primitive technology."

Ren strained as he pushed Bit back, forcing his guns down as he did so and pushing the sabre towards the ground. As his guns lined up with Bit's head, Ren fired a quick burst. Bit dashed backwards and deflected the shots.

"You'll find we humans are full of surprises." Ren calmly retaliated.

"Oh you are? Great! I may actually have to use some of my skill here!"

Jaune and Nora watched as the two set about their duel. Then, Byte landed directly behind them, his giant form making the ground shudder as he stood over the two Hunters. They both gulped and turned to look at their opponent.

To their surprise, he was pinching the brow of his nose, seemingly embarrassed.

"I apologise, my partner can be a little over excited at times."

Nora and Jaune looked at each other, unsure of what to say to that.

"Ummm... no worries?" Jaune replied, the only answer he could think of at the time.

Byte put his hand down by his side and stared straight at Nora and Jaune. "I on the other hand, intend to give you a much more dignified battle. This is not a personal matter you understand, but I have my orders."

Jaune and Nora tensed up, Jaune drew his blade and held his shield firmly as Nora weighed up her hammer in her hands.

"By the way, I would like to apologise in advance. Whilst I do respect you Hunters to the utmost extreme, I would rather like to enjoy myself in this battle, please do not take it personally."

Nora tapped her foot. "Are we gonna fight, or are we gonna talk?"

Jaune practically face palmed, talking would be an infinitely better option than fighting this giant behemoth right now!

"Oh yes, how rude of me. Good luck to you both, let us begin."

Byte stomped the ground with his foot, sending out a tremendous shockwave. The sheer power of it felled trees nearby and made the school building shake to it's foundations! It also had the more pressing effect of knocking Nora and Jaune up into the air. Byte then wound up a punch and threw it just as the two were passing his height.

"Watch out!" Nora called, throwing her body up and dodging the punch. Landing next to the giant, she cartwheeled back upright and looked to see Jaune was being flung far away by the punch.

Realising he couldn't dodge the attack, Jaune had raised his shield and focused his aura on it, hoping to block the strike. To Byte's surprise, he did so, the young Huntsman absorbing the crushing impact and recovering without so much as a scratch.

"Impressive." Byte complimented.

"Oh, we're just getting started!" Nora growled, still mad that Byte had dared attack her leader.

She leapt up and started to run alongside Byte, an easy thing to do given his size, not so easy given his movement. As Nora approached him, Byte tried to swat her. Nora slid under his sweeping hand motion and then swung up and over, using his arm as a grip. Leaping high, she swung down with her hammer, hitting the giant Reploid in the back of his head. A hollow clang gave indication of the hit and Nora jumped back down to the ground as Byte held the back of his head. Byte tried another punch, Nora easily dodged it however and the mighty fist slammed into the ground instead.

"I would appreciate it if you held still, little one!"

"Lovely manners, but they won't get you anywhere tin grin!"

Bit noticed the little exchange taking place and decided to get involved.

"Excuse me a moment!"

Shoving Ren of his feet, Bit turned a held a hand to his head. A glowing orange ring materialised in his hand. Pulling his arm back, he threw the hoop straight at Nora. As it hit here, it hovered in place around her feet, not touching them but just staying there.

"That better, partner?" Bit asked, sarcastically.

"Much." Byte replied.

Nora prepared to dodge his next strike, only to find that she couldn't move her feet! The hoop was somehow holding them in place, and Byte's fist was heading straight for her!

"NORA!" Ren shouted as he ran to her aid. Bit would have none of it though, tackling the boy and pinning him face down on the ground. He pulled Ren's head up to see what was happening.

"Uh uh, watch, don't interrupt!"

Nora winced as Byte prepared his strike, pulling his fist far behind himself so as to land a good hit. Bit watched on with a sadistic giggle coming from him as Ren struggled against his grip.

Then, just off to the side, they heard a defiant battle cry. Byte had already thrown his fist forward, just as Jaune leapt in, his shield in front of himself. He dived in between Nora and the incoming hit. He would block it or die trying, he would not let Nora be taken from them!

"Aw, cute." Bit mocked.

The fist hit Jaune's shield, and no one could have predicted what would happen next.

As the fist touched the face of the shield, brilliant streaks of white light poured forth from the shield front and Byte's fist went no further. As the momentum of the punch stopped, the beams faded away, but the shield maintained a glorious white glow. The white glow then formed up at the shield centre, making it into a small glowing ball.

"Don't you DARE lay a finger on my friends!" Jaune roared.

Straight after, the ball of light exploded, producing an almighty shockwave. It was so strong that it sent Byte skidding along the ground, his feet tearing up the earth around him. Bringing himself to a halt, the giant Reploid examined his arm. It had fallen limp and was covered in arcs of electricity. He felt it gingerly.

Jaune swung his blade and cut Nora free from her bind. The bubbly fighter was rarely lost for words, but this was one time even she didn't know what to say.

"Jaune... that was... amazing!" She managed to say, but not much else.

Bit meanwhile, had stopped giggling, silence replacing it until he spoke again in anger.

"What the hell? You seriously lost to that guy, Byte? Fine I'll do it myself!"

"No you won't!" Ren said, prompting Bit to look down at his victim and see the barrel of Stormflower pointed at him.

Ren pulled the trigger, a single shot hit Bit straight in his left eye, prompting him to fall backwards with a cry of rage and allow Ren to get free. Bit slowly removed his hand from his eye, letting the team see the damaged metal and sparking wires where he used to be able to see from.

"Grrrr... you little!"

At this point, Bit noticed all three Hunters pointing their weapons straight at him and surrounding him. His head darted around, looking for a way to win this fight, but he just didn't see it. Clenching a shaking fist, he called to his partner.

"Byte, hold 'em down! We're leaving!"

With a nod, Byte pulled a disc shaped device from his back. It was half red and half blue with a gold antennae in the centre. Winding up his good arm, he threw it far, well past where Bit was.

JNPR's weapons were suddenly pulled from their grasp, as well as Jaune!

"What the-?" Jaune cried as Nora and Ren grabbed him to stop him being pulled away.

"An electromagnetic beacon!" Ren realised. "It's pulling on your armour!"

Jaune groaned internally, why always him? Looking back, he saw Bit and Byte retreated to a safe distance and started to teleport away, their bodies flashing white as they did so.

"Hah, I knew your pathetic teammates would go and rescue you and leave us time to escape." Bit laughed. "Must be something about you they really admire. Maybe it's your _magnetic_ personality! GAHAHAHA!"

With that, the duo vanished. As soon as they did, the magnetic beacon powered down, letting Jaune fall ungracefully back to earth, face first.

Nora looked spitefully at the spot where the two Reploids had stood. "First, they attack our school, then they try to kill our team, now they tell puns that are just as bad as Yang's?! They are so getting smashed when I see them again!"

"We can worry about them later. The evacuation is done so let's go get Pyrrha!" Jaune brought the group back on topic

"Aw, more stairs?" Nora groaned as the trio made their way to the top of the tower once again.

 _ **If you have been keeping count, you will be aware that we are still missing one member. They will appear in the next chapter, then it is time for the big reveals! We are so close I can't wait!**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	26. Lumine et Tenebris

_**Let the battle continue! After some reviews!**_

 _ **Atom king: Chaos is a wonderful thing! It'll calm down after the battle for a bi though!**_

 _ **Gravenimage: Bit and Byte were the two Reploids that Doppler built in Megaman X3. They showed up in mid stage battles and the fortress stages too!**_

 _ **Fanfic writer 117: Wait and see, she will be revealed soon enough!**_

 _ **SparktheDog: Now maybe?**_

"Come on, come on, move it!"

"Gamma Battalion, prepare to move out!"

"I want those supplies delivered to the safe zone ASAP!"

Organised chaos. That would be the best way to describe the scene taking place at the back of Beacon Academy right now.

The Atlesian military had set up a temporary command centre at the school so as to coordinate the defence efficiently. Soldiers dashed everywhere, some going to fight, others escorting civilians and some being withdrawn, The wounded took priority, being loaded onto Bullheads.

Winter and General Ironwood watched the action taking place around them, giving orders where necessary. Despite the chaos, they both kept calm and dignified.

"The civilians are almost all evacuated. The last squadron of Bullheads just left for Patch Island." Winter said to the General, though he knew already.

"Then it's time for our men to follow suit. Order the troops to initiate a controlled retreat. Regroup here and we shall begin extraction."

Winter lowered her gaze, silently cursing to herself. "Sir. With all due respect, should we not at least try to defend the academy? Surely we can't give up such a position this easily."

Ironwood knew Winter's mindset and, honourable as it was, he knew it was also suicidal.

"Winter, I don't like this any more than you do, but look around. Our troops were caught off guard. We are outnumbered, outmanoeuvred and outmatched in weaponry too. I agree that the loss of Beacon is a blow, but it's not worth throwing away lives for a fool's errand."

With a saddened look, Winter nodded in agreement. Much as she hated to lose face for failing in her duty as a defender of Beacon, she did not want to fail in the duty for care of her forces. It was not her right to waste their lives on her pride.

" _Aw hell! 100 metres!_ " A call came through on Winter's and the General's communication link.

"Positions!" Winter ordered as several soldiers moved behind cover, cocking their guns and aiming them at the approaching target.

"Spotter, give me details." Winter ordered.

" _Um... er... It... it appears to be one unit... uh... a Reploid. No apparent armament... It's walking... just... walking to your position..."_

The figure was now coming into view. The soldiers tightened their grip on their weapons and sharpened their aim.

The Reploid wore mostly white armour with black tones and some small green highlights. A brilliant blue jewel was visible in the centre of his chest. He had long, lavender hair that was held in a half moon motif, the fringe of the hair covering one of his golden eyes.

"A fool's errand? Ironic, considering your actions thus far."

Winter would not allow this to go any further. She was fully aware from Qrow that these Reploids had to be dealt with.

"All units, fire!" She ordered.

"No, wait!" Ironwood tried to cancel the order but he was too late.

The soldiers began their attack, their rapid fire weaponry not letting up for a moment as they unleashed the fury of their arsenal at the Reploid. To their dismay however, their attacks did nothing. Each shot hit a barrier of some kind, made visible by the interlocking clear hexagon shapes that appeared briefly each time a bullet hit.

"Cease fire!" Ironwood ordered.

The area fell silent as the soldiers lowered their weapons. The Reploid walked on, past the troops and up to Ironwood and Winter. He did not strike but simply stood before them, as though he were just another person waiting to speak to them.

(Insert music: Megaman X8 – Lumine's Theme)

The Reploid looked at them before giving a small chuckle.

"Useless. As useless now as you were then. This world, it has changed so much and yet... humanity has not advanced one little bit."

Winter drew her rapier. "Their weapons may not work on you, but mine will-"

"I wasn't talking about your weapons."

Winter gasped slightly. What was he talking about?"

"I was referring to your species as a whole. Look at yourselves. It has been 8000 years since humanity left Neo Arcadia and in that time you haven't even been able to come close to what you once were, let alone improve beyond that. But then, how can you?"

The Reploid gave Winter a look. Not a menacing look or threatening look, but one that made her incredibly uncomfortable none the less.

"Human kind has always acted on selfish desires. They act to gain pride, power, respect from others and fear from others. They think only of themselves and are so short sighted in their actions that; despite their dreams of accomplishing everything, they accomplish nothing."

He turned to look over the soldiers around him.

"Am I not right?" he queried them. "Humanity refuses to be at peace with itself. You constantly fight, constantly kill and constantly want more. The world cries out in pain because of humans and faunus! That is why we, Reploids, will remove your pestilence from the world."

Ironwood stepped forward. "Maybe you are right. There are people in this world who do just as you say. Perhaps there are more than I would like to think exist; those who cause pain and suffering. But not all are like that, and they are what the rest of us fight for! They are the reason that we fight those wars and attack our own kind. Because we hope that out of the darkness that our world is covered in, we may protect the few lights that give humans and faunus the hope that one day, they may become something better."

The Reploid stood silently, thinking about Ironwood's words.

"Such beautiful resolve." He said, before holding his hand open and firing a shot at Ironwood!

(Insert music: Megaman X8 - Perplexity)

The general gasped before falling to his knees, holding his wound with one hand and keeping himself up with the other.

"General!" Winter cried out, moving down to try and aid him.

"Winter, look out!"

Winter leapt back, rapier at the ready as the Reploid fired on her. She elegantly blocked the shots with her weapon as the Reploid stopped firing and simply watched her with his gold eyes now glowing a blood red.

"You say that humanity still clings to the light. That those you protect are what keeps humanity from falling into darkness and extinction. If that is the case..."

Ironwood, looked up, short of breath as the Reploid fired another shot at him. Already weak, he fell flat on the ground, barely alive.

"GENERAL!" Winter screamed

"...then those lights must be extinguished."

Winter ran beside Ironwood, getting on her knees and raising him gently. She looked for any signs of life from her commander and mentor.

She found none.

The Reploid started to teleport away. The soldiers did not fire on him, knowing their weapons would be useless, but the daggers they shot at him through their glares were just as deadly.

"The lights of the old world will soon fade. Then I Lumine ,and my brethren, shall bring a new age for Remnant. An age where human and faunus no longer taint the world with their presence. An age where Reploids rule supreme! Hahahahahaaaaaaa!"

With that, Lumine was gone, leaving Winter and her troops to mourn the loss of their general.

Winter pulled her former superior in close and sobbed. Some soldiers took of their helmets as a sign of respect before Winter placed Ironwood's body back down gently and stood up. Shaking slightly through her tears, she spoke to one of the soldiers.

"Any other hostiles?"

"N-no ma'am."

"Get your men on the Bullheads and get them out of here. Mark my words. They will pay for what they have done here today, for every life they have taken."

Winter watched the sky in the distance. Seeing X and Ruby land near the arena, she smiled with confidence.

"They will find our light's are not so easily snuffed out."

 _ **Beacon Academy – Landing Bays**_

The last of the White Fang grunts was tossed aside by one of Yang's almighty throws. As she did so, Blake swung her blade to decapitate the last of the Beowulves that the White Fang had been using as weapons.

The area was silent now, save for the few groans of defeated White Fang troops and Blake's rapid breathing.

"Getting tired already, my love?" Adam jeered. "Ah, but it isn't exhaustion, is it?"

Adam drew his sword, Wilt, pointing it at Blake.

"It's fear... but fear of what? I wonder."

(Insert music: Kingdom Hearts 2.5 – Dismiss)

Adam charged into battle, swinging his blade wide and catching Blake of guard. She just managed to draw her blades in time to block the strike. Holding his blade against hers, Adam leaned in close and spoke to Blake as she trembled beneath his strength.

"Why?" She asked, her voice cracking through her sadness. "Why are you doing this?"

"I'm doing this because it is what we wanted! Remember?"

Adam pushed his blade further down, forcing Blake onto her back. Redoubling her efforts, she pushed back against him once again as Wilt drew closer to her neck.

"You and I, we were going to lead the White Fang into glorious revolution! We were going to make humanity pay for what they did to our people!"

Blake growled at him. "Then you knew nothing about me! I never wanted any of this!"

Using all her might, Blake shoved Adam back. She then switched to her pistols and fired several rounds, the blazing purple energy shots from her newly upgraded weapons surprised Adam somewhat. He blocked each one but had to retreat to a distance, allowing Blake the time she needed to get back up.

"I never wanted to see humanity or faunus suffer! I never wanted to see the place I call home burn around me! I wanted us to live in peace together, not rule the world with an iron fist!"

"What you are asking for is impossible! It's been tried countless times and every time, it has failed! Why can't you see?" Adam roared as he slashed a stone pillar. The section he had cut fell off and tumbled in front of him.

"I see you've made your choice Blake." Adam said, a slight sadness in his tone. "We could have changed the world, you and I. Instead, you will have to perish with it!

Adam made a sweeping kick and sent the stone straight at Blake who braced for impact.

The rock shattered as it made contact, not with Blake, but with Yang's fist! She stared down Adam, her eyes red as she entered Wreathed Flame form.

"Going to change the world? You sound no better than Cinder! So I'm gonna deal with you, just like we will deal with her and all of your little group."

"You see my love? That's why we are doing this. Because there are people like Yang Xiao Long, who can't bear to see the world change for the better!"

Blake got up slowly, wiping away the tears that had welled up and looking at her former lover.

"I have no problem with changing the world, it needs to be changed." She said. "But we will do it our way! We will make this world better and we won't let any innocents get hurt by your barbaric way of progress!"

Adam steadied his blade, his voice low. "Sacrifices are necessary for progress. Consider yourselves as the first."

In a flash, Adam was right in front of Yang, who jumped back as dam's blade was pushed forward. She leaned back as the tip of the sword just grazed past her chin. With a burst of strength, she pulled herself upright, throwing a punch forward in the process. It connected with Adam's blade and the Bull faunus skidded backwards along the floor.

Lowering his blade, he quickly drew Blush, his handgun and fired three shots in rapid succession. Blake leapt into the fight over the top of Yang, deflecting each shot with her blades before changing to her pistols and returning fire.

Adam now moved forward, working his way through the blasts to try and reach Blake and Yang. He used the environment to his advantage. First he dashed in behind some nearby storage containers, their protective covering giving him a small moment of respite. From there, he made his way among the trees close to the landing platform. Blake and Yang fired constantly, their shots tearing leaves and branches off the trees and setting some areas ablaze. Adam ignored the whizzing of shots and thrashing of greenery around him and focused on the objectives.

Falling back into the darkness of the forest, Adam disappeared from the girls view. The two trained their guns on where he had last been, their eyes on swivels and their heads on pivots as they watched each others backs, waiting for the villain to strike.

Blake gave a gasp as Adam leapt from the forest, through the tops of the trees, a small trail of leaves following him. As he fell towards the duo, he raised his blade. He used the momentum of his fall to make sure he had plenty of power for the attack.

His blade landed in between the two Beacon fighters, forcing them to split up. Blake tried to re-engage her former lover, but was brutally roundhouse kicked aside, giving a small yelp as she was launched away and slammed into the side of one of the Bullheads.

"You..."

Yang's flame aura erupted around her as she launched into a brutal fist fight with Adam. Her swings were wild and untamed, purely driven by her fury, though there was a basic skill to her strikes. Each hit was powerful, the few hits that Adam did block were enough to unsteady him as he used all his strength to guard them. He danced his way around the rest, each miss only increasing Yang's frustration.

Adam just smirked, this is exactly what he wanted to happen. Yang was not getting visibly tired, but he could sense her aura draining, such was the price of Wreathed Flames form. Yang's still launched her assault without mercy.

Seeing his chance coming, Adam blocked one more attack from Yang, the girl using her armoured gauntlets as protection as she pushed against Adam. But the Bull faunus had far more reserve strength in him and he used it to force Yang back, sending upwards slightly. She landed with an thud on the concrete and charged up for another volley.

Adam withdrew his blade to his sheath. Keeping his hand upon it as he knelt down on one knee.

Yang seemed bewildered for a moment, wondering what he was doing. Her instincts took over though as she returned to her rage filled mood and charged up her gauntlets with a brilliant glowing flame.

With a furious battle cry, she launched forward, intent on ending Adam's life.

 _ ***FLASH***_

A bright light shone for a split second. Adam still knelt, his blade now drawn and held outwards. Yang landed with a sickening crash on the floor, unconscious.

"Yang! No!" Blake started to run back to her, gasping and halting instantly as another, smaller thud was heard.

Yang lay unmoving, and beside her... was her right forearm, amputated, the gauntlet still on it.

Blake quivered, falling to her knees. She had let this happen. Yes it was Adam who dealt the strike, but it was her who had wrought his wrath upon Yang. If hse had stayed with him maybe? If she had finished him off while she had the chance? Or if she had never been so foolish as to be conned into his false love in the first place.

Tears flowed as she let the sadness she felt consume her. She punched the ground, sobbing loudly.

It soon subsided though, her crying falling silent and replaced by a heavy breathing. That sadness and despair gave way to anger. Anger at herself, anger at the White Fang and anger at Adam.

"You heartless bastard!" She screamed, picking up Gambol Shroud and rushing at Adam.

The boy stood there, seemingly waiting for his former lover to engage him in combat. Blake had almost reached him, a few more meters was all it took. Without warning however, a shot was fired.

And hit Blake in her gut.

She fell to the ground, just in front of Adam. She strained as she looked up at her former mentor, unspeakable hatred in her eyes. That look then shifted behind him, to where the shot had come from.

(Insert music: Dark Cloud OST – Black Shadows)

"Why did you intervene?" Adam asked. "I had things completely under control."

"That swing would have killed her." Vile replied, his shoulder cannon smoking as Neo walked alongside him. "I know you're used to getting things done quickly and cleanly, but you should thank me. I know what you really want. You want to make her suffer."

Adam looked back to his former love, contemplating Vile's words.

"True."

"Well, looks like you've made a pretty good start. I'm actually impressed." Vile gestured towards Yang.

Blake tried to get back up, but her wound was deep and she would need to wait for it to heal before she could stand, let alone carry Yang out.

"You're with him?" Blake spat at Adam, utterly disgusted that he would work with someone like Vile.

"I do what I must Blake. Something that you were unwilling to do when you left me."

With those words said, Adam sheathed Wilt and walked away, heading to the Bullhead without looking back.

"Neo, be a dear and help get these grunts on board, would you? We still need them, no matter how weak they are."

As the White Fang members were loaded on board; Adam, Neo and Vile all climbed in. As the ships engine roared and the side doors closed, Blake took another look at Adam. A look that said all about her hatred and desire to avenge her partner.

Adam simply smiled to himself as the Bullhead flew off.

"We shall meet again, my love."

 _ **BOOM! Done!**_

 _ **So, that is all the council members accounted for, we just need the identities of the other two.**_

 _ **Ironwood is dead, so now Winter has a reason to get involved more personally with this fight and Adam has not only made his strike against Blake, but is also working with Vile and Neo!**_

 _ **What is their plan?**_

 _ **What about Pyrrha?**_

 _ **And who is Penny going to face in the arena?**_

 _ **The final few parts are approaching, soon all shall be revealed!**_

 _ **Until next time.**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	27. Cinders and Ashes

_**Two, count 'em, two more chapters in this battle are left. Let's keep going and see what final twist of the knife this battle will have!**_

 _ **Gravenimage: Gotta make them look like a threat! Plus, the villains came out of nowhere and are vastly superior to Ruby and her friends at the moment.**_

 _ **Atom king: That was Lumine from Megaman X8. As for Winter, she won't go crazy but hey, she has a personal fight to fight as well now!**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: Good. Let the hate flow through you! :3**_

 _ **Pea Brain Writer: Like I said at the start of this battle, this is the big arc finale so there will be lots of battles. Only two left now though (well, two and a half). As for the connection being intentional: Yes.**_

 _ **Grimlock987: Sorry, no Transformers here mate. :(**_

 _ **MetalSonic30: Yeah, it does seem pretty fitting! Maybe I'll make it their theme song for encounters after this battle.**_

(Insert music: Megaman ZX Tunes: Pallida Mors)

Cinder launched a salvo of fire waves at Pyrrha, their intense heat scorching the roof that they now battled upon. Pyrrha danced around them, though not without difficulty. She squinted as she tried to see Cinder through the heat filled haze. She regained her visual focus just in time to see another flame shot heading straight for her head. With a gasp, she drew her shield in the nick of time and let the shot impact.

Pyrrha held the shield for a few seconds before quickly discarding it as a burning sensation covered her hand. Looking to her former protection, she could see it glowing red hot. A quick glance of her hand revealed several burns, though thankfully not too severe.

Making the most of a bad situation, Pyrrha switched Milo to javelin mode. It was now a very effective two handed weapon, her preferred method of battle.

Pyrrha ran straight at Cinder, her opponent readying herself to launch a fiery punch at her. Cinder's hand glowed as the ember flame burned strongly around it. Waiting until Pyrrha would be at the right distance, Cinder swung her arm forward.

Pyrrha smiled as she had wanted just that to happen. As she ran, Pyrrha stabbed Milo into the ground and used it like a pole vault, launching herself up and over Cinder's attack. Pulling Milo out of the ground with her, Pyrrha swung her weapon around and landed a strike to Cinder's back before coming back to the ground and continuing her assault.

Not letting up her momentum, Pyrrha spun and slashed again at Cinder's back. The villain staggered forward as wave after wave of strikes hit her. Pyrrha twirled Milo in her hand and threw one final thrust forward, knocking Cinder to her knees.

Cinder turned angrily, looking up at Pyrrha as she pointed Milo at Cinder's throat.

"It's over, Cinder!"

Cinder clenched her fist before throwing another fireball at Pyrrha, who promptly backed off as Cinder got to her feet.

"Not yet..." she snarled.

Cinder held her arms out to her sides before pointing them at the ground. She then spun, making a small circle of flames around herself. Her eyes grew fiery for a moment before she let out a scream and a pillar of fire engulfed her. It erupted through the clouds, reaching several miles and forcing Pyrrha off her feet.

The force of the blast threw her towards the edge of the roof. Switching Milo back to blade form, she stabbed it into the ground, stopping herself from falling off the edge just as her feet were dangling off the side. Pyrrha pulled herself back up as the pillar subsided and revealed a very different looking Cinder.

Her hair was gone, replaced with a burning fire and her eyes glowed red, with flames around the edges. Her tattoos also glowed red hot and an aura of heat covered her, so much so that the air around was a heat haze. She floated just off the ground and Pyrrha could sense the power that Cinder truly had! She was going all out, and Pyrrha would have to stop her.

"This is far from over!" Cinder yelled as she rocketed towards Pyrrha, flames extending from her hands.

A fiery fist struck Pyrrha's arm, raised to protect herself since her shield was unusable. Cinder, filled with rage, grabbed Pyrrha's arm. She tried to pry it off with her other hand but Cinder grabbed it too. Cinder now increased the intensity of the flames in her hands, causing the girl's arm guards to glow red hot.

Pyrrha let out a cry of pain as the hot metal burned her arms. With another burst of power, Cinder crushed down on Pyrrha's arms. The armour pieces started to buckle and the sound of metal bending could be heard until finally, they shattered.

Cinder let Pyrrha go, the Spartan girl falling to her knees and doubling over in pain as she cradled her burned arms. She couldn't move them for the sheer agony they now suffered. Looking back up at Cinder, Pyrrha was quickly hit with a line of hot embers across her face.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Pyrrha screamed as the embers burned her face, hitting her in the eyes.

"You think I spent all this time and effort, just to be felled by another Hunter? I am so much more than you will ever be, Pyrrha Nikos. I am the only one worthy to be ruler of Remnant, I am not going to be stopped by some red haired airhead who won a few tournaments!"

Pyrrha tried to get back up, but a stamp of Cinder's heel on her back was enough to knock her back down.

Cinder pulled some fiery wisps of energy from her tattoos, forming them into a bow and arrow. She conjured forth an arrow and drew the bow back, aiming it just above Pyrrha's breastplate. The shot would puncture her heart and, with no aura left, kill her with ease. She steadied her aim, looking at Pyrrha whom could barely keep herself kneeling upright, showing just how much had been taken out of her.

With a final smirk, she fired the arrow.

Cinder gasped however as she did not hear the thud of the shot hitting flesh but saw something else.

The arrow was held still in front of Pyrrha, it was surrounded by a purple glow. Whatever was happening, it was not Cinder's doing. Momentarily confused, Cinder turned on the spot and found two hooded figures standing there. One with a bloodied sword and the other with her hand outstretched, the same purple glow around it.

Pyrrha couldn't stay awake any more. Exhausted, she fell to her side in a heap, unconscious. With the arrow's target out of it's path, the figure removed it from it's frozen position. It maintained it's momentum and flew of the side of the rooftop, striking a flying Grimm in the head and bringing the beast down to earth.

"Cinder Fall." A female voice said. "We meet at last."

 _ **Ozpin's Office**_

Ren and Nora leapt through the destroyed elevator doorway. Since Pyrrha's entrance, the elevator had been out of action, meaning that the team had to use the elevator cables as a method of ascension to the office.

"Guys? A little help?"

The two turned to see Jaune clinging onto the edge of the elevator door opening, struggling to get up. With a small laugh, the two pulled him up out of the shaft and into the office.

"You really need to work on your climbing, Jauney boy." Nora said.

"Hey! Let's see you try to get up there with a clunky shield on you."

Nora motioned to the giant hammer that was attacked to her back. Jaune gave a mock huff pose.

"You still had two hands free."

"Do you mind?" Gate said, annoyed. "I am trying to do important work here."

(Insert music: Megaman X6 – Sigma Reborn/Gate's Laboratory 3)

The trio all drew their weapons as Gate rolled his eyes at them before putting down his equipment and facing them.

"Out with it buddy! Where's Pyrrha, where's Ozpin?"

"If you are referring for your friend, my mistress is busy dealing with both her and Miss Fall. As for Ozpin..."

Gate picked up Ozpin's cracked glasses from the floor, showing them to JNR.

"...well... he was just to problematic to be kept around."

Gate tossed the glasses over to them, a small clinking sound as they hit the floor in font of them. Though Gate had not said anything concrete, the three knew full well that their headmaster had been killed.

"Regardless, I would appreciate it if you went on your way, I am rather busy, as I'm sure you can see." Gate said passively.

The device next to Gate then started to beep rapidly and the central spire started to glow with energy. Gate moved over to the panel and grinned victoriously.

"What is that thing?" Ren demanded.

Gate held a small trigger switch in his hand. Displaying it to the team, he smirked at them as the device started to make a powering up sound.

"Just the next step in the destruction of your old world. You know, you really should thank me! You've been fighting the Grimm for so long, I'm going to take care of that problem in one fell swoop."

Gate pressed the trigger and the machine fired out a pulse. It moved out and expanded, phasing through the building and moving out over the landscape. It travelled several metres per second, moving out over the horizon and out of sight of the team.

"Expected global coverage in 30 seconds. Just as I calculated." Gate said, pleased with himself.

"What was that? What did you just do?" Jaune shouted, his blade pointed at Gate.

The scientist laughed heartily. "Well, you and your Hunters were just going to kill the Grimm. I think I have found a far better use for them."

Gate dusted his hands together. "Well, my job is done. I am sure we shall meet again, much as I would rather not. But then, you humans are so persistent, aren't you?"

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Nora called after him as she drew her hammer and charged at him.

"Farewell." Gate said before starting to teleport away.

Nora swung her hammer overhead and slammed down on Gate. He just made his teleport in time as the hammer phased through him and impacted on the floor. Nora swung her hammer at the device in anger. Smashing it to pieces in one hit.

"Dammit!" She cursed.

A dull thud on the roof above their heads brought the team's attention back to the present situation.

"Pyrrha must be up top! Let's go!" Jaune ordered his team as they started to make their way to the rooftop.

 _ **Back on the Roof**_

(Insert music: Megaman Zero 4 Remastered – Fate – Theme of Vile/Weil)

Cinder drew another arrow and aimed it straight at the two cloaked figures. She was seething with rage that her chance to kill had been taken from her.

"It's such a shame." The hooded girl said. "You have an ambition and power that I almost respect, Miss Fall. You would have made a great addition to our ranks."

"Please. Why would I want to share the world with a bunch of nobodies like yourselves." Cinder replied before firing the arrow at the girl.

The hooded girl raised her hand again, stopping the arrow once more before grabbing it and holding it in her hand.

"I know you wouldn't. That is exactly the problem. You are far too powerful for your own good, Miss Fall. While your little lackeys can be kept in check, your level of power is a threat not just to Hunters and humanity but to our new world as well. Fortunately, I have a solution."

The girl then fired a ball of purple energy at Cinder. It engulfed her in it's energy and when it subsided, Cinder had returned to her normal form. Her hair was black like it had been before and her tattoos were just that and no more.

"When a fire has gone out of control, it is not left to burn itself out. Instead-"

The girl then blinked away and appeared behind Cinder. Placing one arm around her neck, she held Cinder in place before taking the arrow she held and thrusting it into Cinder's back.

Cinder would have screamed if the pain was not so overwhelming. Instead she gave a gasp and her pupils shrunk. She tried to find a voice to cry out with, but the pain was too much.

"-we extinguish it."

The girl let go of the arrow, still jammed into Cinder's body and her hand glowed with a purple flame again, just as it had done when she took Ozpin's life.

"Your fire will be put out, Cinder. And all that shall remain, just like this world, is ashes."

Placing the flaming hand over Cinder's face, the villain's body was engulfed in the purple fire. With one final, pained scream, Cinder disintegrated, her ashes being blown away by the wind as the purple fire died down.

The roof was now silent, save for the distant sounds of battle. The girl looked into the distant skyline, the sun was rising just over the crest of the horizon.

"Dawn is approaching, the first dawn of a new world."

The male figure came over to her. "Sister. What shall we do with this one?"

Looking to where her brother was motioning, the girl saw Pyrrha. She was still unconscious, her breathing slow and calm as her body recovered. She was oblivious to anything happening around her.

"This human... she withstood the attack by Cinder?"

"Indeed she did, sister. It is quite rare to find a human of such strength and skill. Unfortunately, she shall have to be disposed of, she could become a great threat to our plans."

"Hmmm..." The girl thought to herself as they walked over beside Pyrrha.

Jaune, Nora and Ren leapt onto the roof, the cool twilight air hitting their faces and the gusts of wind bringing them fully into reality again.

"Pyrrha? Pyrrha?" Jaune called, looking around frantically.

In the distance, on the other side of the rooftop, he saw two cloaked figures. One had teleported away already, the other stood over someone laying down on the ground, someone that Jaune immediately recognised.

"Pyrrha!" He cried as he ran over to the figure, sword drawn.

The remaining hooded figure heard him and turned to see him approaching. She stood still as Jaune got ever closer. Watching long enough to see his face, the figure teleported away as well. By the time Jaune reached Pyrrha, they were gone. Nora and Ren scoured the area, looking for any sign of the two mysterious figures, though they found no trace of them.

Jaune knelt down and gently picked Pyrrha up. She stirred slightly as he did so.

"Pyrrha? Pyrrha, are you alright?" Jaune asked.

To his relief, her eyes opened slowly. "Jaune?" She barely managed to say.

Jaune hugged her tightly, his relief, as well as Ren and Nora's was palpable. A quick wince from Pyrrha told Jaune that she was not in the best condition right now. She looked worse for wear but at least she was still alive, anything else could be fixed by the medics once they were safe.

Lifting the Spartan girl gently, the team started to make their way back down to the evacuation point. Then, looking through the window of the ruined office, they saw a most peculiar sight.

"What's wrong with the Grimm?" Ren questioned.

The Grimm were stood still, some holding their heads as they growled and writhed in pain. It was like there was an invisible force, pricking away at them, rendering them unable to fight or act.

"Hey, if they aren't attacking, it just makes our trip a lot easier. Let's go, we can worry about them later!" Jaune told his team as they headed off.

Ren continued to watch as the Grimm went about their odd behaviour before going after his team. Whatever was happening to them, Ren was sure it wasn't good.

 _ **Outside the Arena**_

X and Ruby touched down just in front of the arena, the place where they had all split up earlier. Gently placing Ruby down, X went back to his normal armour mode, dismissing his Falcon Armour chip and together they took stock of what was going on.

The citizens and any other students had all been evacuated, the last few Bullheads flying off to the safe zone. With that being the primary objective, X decided it was time for them all to leave. He took out his scroll and opened up a joint call with both teams.

They hadn't faired as well as he was hoping. Yang and Pyrrha had not answered their's, instead X could see Pyrrha being carried by Jaune and Yang being helped by Blake. Blake herself was in a bad way, X could see the blood on her garments.

"Guys! What happened? Are you alright?" X asked.

"Blake? What happened to Yang?" Ruby popped into the video call with concern.

Blake grit her teeth. "Never mind us, what about the citizens?"

Jaune fielded that question. "We got word that everyone is out safely, we're heading fro the evac point now."

X took a deep breath as he tried to get a hold of the situation. "Listen, a hell of a lot has happened and it will all need figuring out but we can do that later. For now, I want you all to get to the Bullhead and get ready to fly out of here."

"What about you and Ruby?" Jaune queried.

"We'll be alright, we just have to get Penny and then we can leave too. It won't take long."

"Ok, we'll get the pilot to pick you up at the arena, save you fighting your way through the Grimm."

"Thanks Jaune, good luck."

Just as they were about to end the call, Penny popped up on the screen. It was clear that she was still in battle but that made no sense, the Grimm had not gotten into the arena.

"Friend X! I..."

An explosion rocked the arena behind Penny.

"I am in need of assistance, please hurry!"

"Penny? What's going on? Penny?" Ruby tried to get more information but the call dropped.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get her out of there!"

Ruby ran off, drawing Crescent Rose as she did so. X followed her, his buster ready and a terrible feeling deep down.

Something was not right here.

 _ **Next chapter is the finale of the battle folks! Get excited cos it's gonna get awesome!**_

 _ **Until next time.**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	28. The Fall

_**It's the grand finale folks! Buckle up, it's gonna be a heck of a ride!**_

 _ **Gravenimage: Wait no longer my friend!**_

 _ **Atom king: Yeah, kind of balanced in the end wasn't it? Let's see if I can screw that up!**_

 _ **Grimlock987: I could maybe make a side character, no promises though.**_

 _ **SparktheDog: Let's find out, shall we?**_

(Insert music: Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep – Black Powder)

Penny brought up two of her blades across her face, giving her just enough time to block a strike from a green energy sabre. It's wielder was skilled, beyond anything she had ever fought before. He could move fast, fight smart and hit like a Paladin!

Struggling against the force of her opponent, whom pressed down further with his sabre, Penny tried to back away. She was denied this however, as a fist struck her in the gut, causing her to stumble and let her guard drop. Another strike of the fist send her rocketing away from where she was.

She slammed into the side wall, chunks of rubble falling around her as she collapsed onto one knee. The user was a sword wielder though, right? At least now she could have a moments respite. Taking advantage of this, Penny took out her scroll and flicked through her list of contacts until she found the two names she knew would help.

Answering the call, X and Ruby seemed surprised that Penny was looking for them, they were even more surprised when an explosion erupted behind her!

"Friend X! I am need of assistance! Please hurry!"

"Penny? What's going on? Pe-"

An energy shot hit Penny's scroll right out of her hand, the robot girl watching it skim across the arena floor uselessly. Turning back, she saw the figure's left hand was gone and in it's place.

A buster cannon.

"Your weapon!" Penny called to the figure as she got up. "It is the same as my friend's! Tell me, how did you acquire it?"

The figure looked at his buster for a moment but then pointed it straight back at Penny.

"If you will not tell me, I shall be forced to neutralise you!" Penny drew all her swords in a winged formation around herself.

The figure fired off three powerful shots but Penny was easily able to move around them, using the energy burst from her swords to boost her mobility. Dismissing his buster, the figure charged at Penny, though he had a ways to go before he reached her.

Taking advantage of this, Penny readied her swords in blaster form and had them fire volley after volley of shots at the target. It was not as effective as she had hoped though as the figure blocked each one with sabre swing across himself. Relentlessly, he continued to advance.

Penny decided she had only one option left. She brought her swords in a circle in front of herself and began charging energy within them. Each sword fired of a small beam of energy, these then converged in the middle, creating a green energy orb that expanded in size and power with each passing second.

Still the figure drew closer, he would soon be able to leap and reach Penny. She held the shot as long as she could before using all her might to send the energy orb forward. The force of the launch alone was enough to knock Penny off her feet. She caught her breath as the shot flew towards her opponent.

The figure saw the shot coming and raised his sabre to shield himself again. The orb made contact with his sabre and...

 _ **KABOOM!**_

The explosion rocked the stadium to it's very foundations as a shock wave rippled out from the point of impact, blowing past Penny and making her outfit and hair flap in the wind that followed. It soon died down though, leaving only silence and a large pillar of smoke and dust where the figure once was.

Penny let out a sigh of relief and smiled, watching the small fires burn around the point of impact as the dawn sun started to peak over the arena roof opening.

"Penny!"

Turning to the sound of a voice all too familiar to the robot girl, Penny leapt for joy as she saw her friends approach.

"Friend Ruby! Friend X!" She called, waving to them.

Ruby had broken out into a fast run, relieved to see her friend was alright. It was unfortunate as she did not see something stirring in the smoke pillar. Something moving, with a sabre still drawn.

X looked at the pillar and could have sworn he saw a silhouette in amongst the fire. He focused his vision on it and saw, to his horror, someone was still in there.

As if the figure sensed this, it leapt up and X saw him jump out of the smoke and head towards the ground where Penny was!

"Stay back Ruby! Penny watch out!" X warned.

Confused, Ruby slowed down and Penny looked around. She only saw the figure at the last possible moment, as it was just above her, sabre pulled back.

The silence of the arena, was shattered by the sound of metal being torn through.

Ruby skidded to a halt, her hands over her mouth. The figure had stabbed Penny right through her chest, the sabre energy sending sparks out as it burned through her metallic frame. Penny stood still, her systems trying to repair the damage done but it was no use.

The figure extinguished his sabre, letting Penny fall where she stood. There was still some activity in her green eyes, though they started to fade as she lost power. Ruby activated her semblance and dashed pat the figure, grabbing Penny and removing her from his presence, leaving a trail of petals behind as she did so.

"Penny!" Ruby cried, tears welling up as she gently tapped her friend on the cheek, trying to get her to come to.

Penny's eyes flickered open, the robot girl smiling. Not a smile of joy but a smile that was clearly just a brave face, she knew her repair systems wouldn't work with this level of damage. A small notification in her vision warned her of critical power loss, she had a few seconds at most.

Ruby of course, did not know that.

"Just hang on Penny, we'll take you back to Schnee, we can get you fixed!"

"I'm sorry... I failed you... friend Ruby."

"No! You did all you could Penny, it wasn't your fault. Please! Just hang in there!"

"Then, I did well? I am still... your friend?"

Ruby couldn't help but laugh softly at Penny's naïve nature. "Heh. Always."

Penny gave a grin before a small spark went of on the wound in her chest. Her grin faded and the glow in her eyes went out. As Ruby watched, her head slowly tilted back and the sound of machinery powering down could be heard.

Ruby squeezed Penny's lifeless shell tightly to herself and sobbed loudly. The sniffs and cries loud and clear across the battlefield.

The figure, who had been watching all of this, now turned to X. He could see that X's fist was clenched, his teeth gritted and his breathing heavy. With a cry that was shouted to the sky, X charged at the figure.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!"

(Insert music: Megaman X5 – X vs Zero)

The figure fired of two large energy shots, the first was easily jumped over by X, exploding on the ground harmlessly. The second, X decided to shoot through, firing his own shot just as the figure's reached him. It exploded, leaving a cloud of dust that X promptly jumped through.

An energy slash from the sabre now came at X. Dashing to the side, X countered with his charged shot but it was slashed into nothingness by the sabre. The figure then dashed towards X, slashing at X's head. The blue Hunter dashed underneath it and rolled forward to dodge the spinning counter slash that followed.

X dashed some distance away and fired a charge shot. The figure responded with a bigger energy slash. It passed through X's shot, destroying it in the process and hit the legendary Hunter, dragging him backwards before exploding into the arena wall.

"YOU MONSTER!" Ruby shouted, catching the figure off guard and slashing him with several combos from Crescent Rose.

Halfway through her combo, she switched her scythe to rifle form and fired three shots into the figures chest, causing him to double over from each one. Ruby then went back to scythe form and used it like a pole to swing from. She launched herself off it and kicked the figure in his chest with both feet, knocking him to the ground.

The figure redoubled his efforts, pushing himself up almost immediately and firing at Ruby. The girl used her semblance to full effect, keeping ahead of the figure's shots, letting him hit only the petals she left behind in her wake.

As the figure lined up a shot for Ruby, he was hit in the back by a slash from X's sabre. The blue Hunter had recovered from his hit earlier and had donned his falcon armour mode once again. Using the flight ability, he zoomed around the figure, diving in and slashing him wherever an opportunity could be found. As X turned to go for another pass, he fired his buster at the figure to try and keep him in one place.

The mysterious foe blocked each shot, but this in turn gave Ruby an opening as she front flipped several times through the air, he scythe spinning around her, and landed a critical hit on the figure. Following up, she elbowed him in the chest and backhanded him with her fist in his face before round kicking him in his side.

X dived in with another slash and landed beside the figure. The two started to pummel him with wave after wave of strikes. Frustrated, the foe crossed his arms over his chest and built up an aura of energy. Releasing it, he flung Ruby and X back, the latter landing beside Penny.

He looked over to Penny's still body, still in shock that he could have let this happen. Placing a hand on her head, X copied her power, swearing to himself that he would not let this act go unpunished.

Flying back up again, X activated Penny's form. His armour turning green and black, save for his helmet which had orange colourations on it. He activated Penny's weapon and four drones started to encircle him. He flew close by the figure, who had noticed him coming and fired upwards to bring X back down to earth.

X easily dodged the shots in the freedom of the skies before pointing at the figure and shouting to his drones.

"Open fire!"

As X flew by, the drones stayed in a tight formation around him but also shot their own attacks at the figure. X flew closer to give the drones a better shot. The opponent saw this and started to run, each shot missing him by mere millimetres.

Ruby used her semblance to run alongside the figure. Taking moment to look at the hooded foe, Ruby swung her scythe behind her, causing the enemy to duck under it. This of course, meant he had to stop running and was quickly pummelled with a barrage of shots from the drones.

Ruby and X had their opening. Drawing their weapons in ranged mode, the two slashed at the figure relentlessly. Each slash inflicted a little more damage, and each slash fuelled a little more of their pain. The two had the same thoughts in their heads; thoughts of anger, rage and sadness.

"This is for all the citizens you attacked!" X thought as he slashed across the figures chest.

"This one is for hurting my team!" Ruby told herself as she swiped at his legs with her scythe.

"For all the damage and destruction you've wrought!" A quick buster shot to the back followed.

"For Penny!" A rifle shot to the shoulder.

X switched to Yang's weapon. Charging up a shot, his buster started to spurt small flickers of flame. He aimed at the enemy and thought to himself before firing.

"For all the suffering you've caused!"

He fired and the flame fuelled shot hit the figure in the gut before exploding in an eruption of orange flame.

In amongst the fire, the figure stood back up, his hooded garment ablaze. X and Ruby readied themselves.

"You want some more? Huh!?" Ruby taunted at him, enraged beyond all comprehension.

The figure placed his hands on both shoulders of the burning garment. Pulling it off his body, he tossed what was left to the wind. The discarded clothing floated down into a smouldering heap outside the fire. He started to walk out of the blaze, stepping into the floodlights of the arena.

Ruby watched on but X gasped in horror.

He had seen this fighter before, someone he knew all to well.

(Insert music: Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep – The Key of Darkness)

He stood at X's height and wore body armour similar to his, though the shoulder plates were more square like. His helmet was shaped differently at the top with small spikier parts and a blue crystal in his forehead, but these were minor observations. X only need two things to identify this Reploid. The Red and white colour scheme with yellow highlights, and the long, blonde ponytail that extended down his back.

With a quivering voice, one that wanted to not believe what he was seeing before him, X spoke the figures name. A name that he was both overjoyed and heartbroken to hear, all at once.

"Z... Zero?"

"Hahahaaaaaaa! Surprised, X? You shouldn't be. After all, who would know Zero better than you?" A girl's voice said from seemingly nowhere.

"That voice... no, it can't be!" X panicked.

"Oh but it is! And I brought some other old acquaintances with me!"

As she spoke those words, X's worst nightmare was starting to become a reality. Each one that teleported onto the top of the arena walls only served to deepen his shock and panic.

"At last X, we meet again." Sigma said, arms folded.

"Yo! X boy! How's it hanging?" Double taunted, lying on his side as he did so.

"We still have a score to settle with you." Gate added.

"Agreed." Lumine said.

" _Save some for us too!_ " Bit and Byte called over simultaneously.

The final two hooded figures cast aside their garments. Both looked strikingly similar to X, with similar body armour. The male's armour was more bulky, making him look like an ancient knight of some kind. A metallic visor covered his eyes but his nose and mouth could be seen keeping a straight and serious expression. In his hands he carried a large, two handed blade.

The girl had no helmet, allowing her long brown hair to flow in the wind. Her eyes were blue like X's, but they lacked the shine of his, instead being faded and pale. Eyes that lacked any mercy or compassion.

X stared in disbelief. "That's impossible. I defeated you! You were supposed to stay locked away!"

"Yet here I stand." She laughed softly. "But tell me X. Since you have been having some memory problems, or so I heard, tell me, do you know who I am?"

"Of course I do. How could I forget after all you've done?"

"Then prove it. Tell your little friend here who we are. Say our names, the names of the two who brought humanity so close to extinction."

X hesitated for a moment, contemplating on whether Ruby should her this. But he decided quickly. There was no point in keeping secrets now.

"You are my greatest creations... and my deepest regrets; Xandria and Xevach."

"Ah." Xandria sighed with satisfaction. "It is so good to hear you address me after all these millennia."

"I can't say I really enjoyed it." X said flatly. "What have you done to Zero? He would never attack me or any of these humans like that of his own free will. What did you do to him?"

"Me? I didn't do anything. He is just doing what he was ordered to do, by you, all those years ago. He's destroying Mavericks, just like he always has."

"What do you mean? That doesn't explain why he would attack humans, or me!"

"Heh heh. Take some time, figure it out. You'll have plenty of time to from your cell in Neo Arcadia. Zero, take him!"

At Xandria's command, Zero started to advance on X, causing the Hunter to back away slowly. Ruby dashed forward to try and block him but she was swiftly backhanded aside by a strike from Zero, grunting as she hit the arena floor. Zero continued his march as X tried to talk some sense into him.

"Zero! Stop! Don't you remember? It's me! X! We're partners! We're friends! Please!"

Zero stopped for a moment, looking at a readout on his helmet. With the voice that X remembered all too well, Zero said something shocking.

"Name: X. Status: Maverick. Judgement: Capture, by order of Mistress Xandria."

Zero readied his buster, setting it to a weaker setting so as to incapacitate X rather than harm him.

Just as he was about to fire however, a bullet whizzed close by, hitting the side of his helmet and causing him to turn away. Looking up, he saw a Bullhead flying into the arena centre and the figure of Blake, one gun smoking, sitting on the edge of the open side door.

Landing in between Zero and X. She gestured for X and Ruby to climb aboard. Ruby did so immediately. X stared past Blake, looking through the shot proof glass on the other side door, at the Reploid he had once called his friend.

"X, come on! We have no time!" Blake called to him, a hand outstretched.

Coming back to reality, X took her hand a let himself be helped aboard. The Bullhead soared upwards as the side door shut. Ll around the arena, the council members readied their weapons until Xadria raised a hand.

"Let them leave. We can get X another time, and maybe something else for our patience too,"

With that, the council watched the Bullhead fly into the distance as Double spoke to Gate. "Well, it wasn't a total waste. I got to slay a few people, damn that felt good by the way, and your little techno gizmo worked a treat!"

"Indeed." Gate replied. "The DNA samples have fully aligned. Every Grimm no the planet is now under our control. If the humans had any hopes of defeating us before, they are gone now."

"Yes." Xandria said. "We have the most powerful army in the world now, and soon we shall have the most powerful Reploid join our ranks. Humanity's time is running out, soon our new world shall be born!"

 _ **Betcha weren't ready for that, huh? I mean people saw Zero coming a mile away, but no one could guess the two main villains, because they are not from any Megaman game! They are my own creations!**_

 _ **But just who are they, why did X make them and what is their plan?**_

 _ **The dust has settled on this battle, but the war is just beginning! There will be one or two cool down chapters and then we shall begin the next arc.**_

 _ **Until next time.**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	29. X's Story

_**OK, let's just calm ourselves a bit. The battle is over and done with, now it's time for some answers.**_

 _ **Gravenimage: Well, this is about as bad as the numbers of villains get... if that is any consolation.**_

 _ **Atom king: Not sure if you skipped my previous replies but Salem is not in this story... like at all. Remember I wrote this idea when Volume 3 was only just starting so I didn't know about her and don't want to shoehorn her into the plot.**_

 _ **Pea Brain Writer: Yeah, I played X8 first and in that he was right handed. It's kind of a minor thing but I always considered Zero ambidextrous anyway. Command Mission is a bit of an oddball in the series in general, I liked it though. (Except Ninetails, screw that guy!) Yeah, it just seems to be a thing with X and Zero, I guess since they were supposed to be enemies originally? Anyway, looking forward to your story, when are you gonna post it? Would love to see it!**_

 _ **Grimlock987: We shall see.**_

 _ **SparktheDog: Yeah, to be honest, everyone saw Zero cominga mile away so I gave up on the surprise for him. The villains still caused some shock though!**_

(Insert music: Megaman Zero 2 Remastered - Resistance Force)

 _ **Evacuation Safe Zone – Patch Island**_

One week after the events of the Battle of Beacon. That was all it had taken. X had to give credit to the Atlesian military, they worked quickly.

X currently stood in one of the main control rooms of the new base that had been set up, watching a news report on one of the main screens. Nothing major worth panicking about, just diplomatic stuff. In this case it was a good thing.

Since Winter had been put in charge of the military she had done wonders for most of Remnant. After being shown the evidence of the attack on Beacon, the other kingdoms had quickly dropped any air of hostility between each other that they still had. All efforts were now focused on keeping the White Fang suppressed and, more importantly, destroying Neo Arcadia and it's forces.

As much as X didn't want to be put back into this position, it did at least feel familiar to him. He had fought in so many battles for world peace all those years ago. With any luck, this would be the final one. It was actually very likely since Xandria seemed to be the last real threat from the old world and the White Fang was hardly comparable to the Mavericks, much as they would like to be.

He would not deny that things were much worse than he had expected though. He had only been woken up by Winter and her company to help defeat the Grimm and the White Fang. Now, all be it inadvertently, the fight had become far bigger than that.

As he watched, standing among the various soldiers on break or civilians going about their lives, Winter approached him. X didn't even take his eyes off the screen, he knew she was coming and he knew what she was here for too.

As it turned out, Winter got straight to the point. "They're all waiting for you in my office, probably best not to keep them waiting."

With those words, Winter left as quickly as she came. X waited until she was out of sight and then let out a deep sigh. He was going to have a hell of a time explaining everything to the teams, especially that line he had said in the battle.

"You are my greatest creations... and my deepest regrets." He quoted to himself. "Great, time to add another regret to the list."

"That concludes our news report, we'll be back at 1 o'clock with updates. Until then, bye bye!" The reporter finished in a typical put on voice.

Pinching his brow, X psyched himself up for the grilling he was sure to receive from Winter, RWBY and JNPR. With no reason left to stick around, X made his way up to Winter's office.

 _ **Winter's Office**_

Moving through the automatic doors, X was greeted by a sea of mixed faces. Winter, Blake, Weiss and Yang all looked at him sternly. Ruby, Pyrrha and Nora all seemed passively sad and Jaune and Ren just kept straight faces.

X couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as he passed Yang. Her arm was bandaged off, awaiting a replacement to be made for her. Despite Blake telling X that it was Adam who was at fault, it was of little comfort. Blake's own bandaged wounds were a painful reminder that X had, intentionally or not, brought this pain upon them.

The teams flanked either side of Winter's desk. Winter herself sat calmly with her elbows resting on the table. X couldn't help but be reminded of Ozpin from her pose, prompting another load of painful memories to surface. They had lost many good people but Ozpin, Ironwood and Penny were the most notable. Recovery crews had tried to salvage Penny after the Grimm had left but they reported no sign of her. Probably for the best in X's mind, there was no guarantee she would have been the same again, given how complex she was.

"I'll cut the chatter for you X." Winter began. "You know why we have asked you to come before us today. I have already convinced the other leaders of Remnant to band together for our cause but I need to know- we need to know- Just what are we up against here?"

"We need to know everything." Ruby continued. "Who they are, how they came to be."

X let out a deep sigh. "It's a pretty long story."

Weiss pulled a metal chair over and sat upon it, legs crossed and arms folded.

"We have time." She said, matter of factly.

The rest of the team members leaned back on the walls or sat on chairs to show that they were not going anywhere anytime soon. Seeing this, X stood in the centre of them all and began his tale.

"In order to tell you everything about our enemy, I need to go right back to the beginning, to before I was even made."

The teams all got comfortable. Granted, this story was important information but they could still enjoy it a little bit.

"When humans first created robots, they were designed to be obedient. You would get a robot, it would do what it was programmed to do and then repeat that task until it became obsolete or got worn out."

X activated a hologram, projecting from his forehead crystal. It showed an older human male with a large white beard and white hair.

"One of the most famous robot designers was a man named Dr. Thomas Light. His robots were far ahead of their time, surpassing all other aspiring inventors, including his colleague."

The picture changed to another older man. This one had grey hair that stuck out of either side of his bald head and a large moustache.

"This is Dr. Albert Wily, some might say he is the man responsible for everything that has gone wrong with robot kind since it's creation. He grew jealous of Dr. Light's success and despised the lack of praise he received. As revenge, he captured Dr. Light's most powerful robots and reprogrammed them for his own use."

X began to flick through the original 8 robot masters. Cutman, Gutsman, Iceman and so forth.

"After raiding the lab, Dr. Light was left with only one robot who could help him. One of his first creations known as Rock. Wanting to help his creator, Rock volunteered to be converted into a battle robot, one that would be known as..."

The hologram changed to a robot that wore blue armour like X's only more simple looking with no crystal on the forehead and clearly much younger looking, only a child at most.

"... Megaman."

X then showed various images and news articles from the time. Each one showed a different battle, usually with Wily but sometimes with others. A black and yellow robot who seemed to be a rival for Megaman, another scientist named Cossack and a robot with gold armour and a mighty axe.

"For several years Megaman fought against Wily and his forces, each time he took on his own brethren without question. After all, he was just following his programming. That was when Dr. Light decided that robots needed a voice, robots who could think, feel and act on their own."

"So then he made..." Ruby asked.

X just nodded.

"Woah!" Ruby seemed rather impressed.

"But the world wasn't ready for me yet. You can't just have robots being your obedient servants one day and then being your equals the next. So Dr. Light did the only thing he could."

The hologram now displayed a wall of text.

 _ **WARNING:**  
"X" IS THE FIRST OF A NEW GENERATION OF ROBOTS WHICH CONTAIN AN INNOVATIVE NEW FEATURE - THE ABILITY TO THINK, FEEL, AND MAKE THEIR OWN DECISIONS. HOWEVER, THIS ABILITY COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS. IF "X" WERE TO BREAK THE FIRST RULE OF ROBOTICS, "A ROBOT MUST NEVER HARM A HUMAN BEING", THE RESULTS WOULD BE DISASTROUS AND I FEAR THAT NO FORCE ON EARTH COULD STOP HIM._

Winter took a slightly questionable look at X upon reading the last line of that paragraph but she said nothing.

 _APPROXIMATELY 30 YEARS WILL BE REQUIRED BEFORE WE CAN SAFELY CONFIRM HIS RELIABILITY. UNFORTUNATELY,_ I _WILL NOT LIVE TO SEE THAT DAY, NOR DO I HAVE ANYONE TO CARRY ON MY WORK. THEREFORE, I HAVE DECIDED TO SEAL HIM IN THIS CAPSULE WHICH WILL TEST HIS INTERNAL SYSTEMS UNTIL HIS RELIABILITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED. PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB THE CAPSULE UNTIL THAT TIME._

 _"X" POSSESSES GREAT RISKS AS WELL AS GREAT POSSIBILITIES. I CAN ONLY HOPE FOR THE BEST._

 _SEPTEMBER 18, 20XX  
T. LIGHT_

"When I was finally discovered by a human named Dr. Cain, the world I had been sealed away from was very different. Unlike the planned thirty year test I was supposed to have, I had been left sealed away for a hundred years. Humanity had advanced somewhat but to them, even though I was a hundred years old, I was like nothing they had ever seen. All future robots that were made in my image were dubbed 'Reploids'."

"Because they were replicas of your design." Jaune finished.

"Yeah." X sighed. "And that's when the trouble really started."

A few puzzled looks were exchanged between the teams. How did it all go so wrong when humanity seemed to be on the brink of a new golden age? They listened on as X continued his story.

"You see, humanity made the mistake of thinking that the Reploids would be subservant, just like the old robots, they couldn't have been more wrong. With their feelings and desire for equality ignored, many Reploids began to turn on humanity. For some it was a simple change to a life of crime, others were more organised. Any robot who turned on humanity was given a name, a label."

"Maverick."

The word hung heavily in the air. Blake had heard it before, way back when she was fighting the Rainbow Devil, it had called X by the same name. Ruby had heard X being called it by Zero. At least now they knew what it meant.

"The organised Mavericks were led by this Reploid; Sigma."

A mugshot of the bald reploid that had appeared at the arena was displayed. His purple scaring only serving to highlight the sinister look in his eyes.

"Zero and I fought him more times than I can remember, and each time he had some new pawn to use or lackey to help him."

X then told of the second rebellion, six months after his first battle with Sigma. How he had to fight the X-Hunters and rebuild Zero after his initial destruction at Vile's hands.

Then came the Doppler incident with Dr. Doppler being manipulated by a revived Sigma to spread the Maverick's across the world. It was, of course, also the origins of Bit and Byte.

"So that's where those two came from." Jaune said.

"Yes, they were specifically designed to hunt me down and destroy me. As it turned out, they were pretty bad at their job. Their grudge is personal now, no Doppler to take orders from."

X carried on. "Doppler town senta string message across the planet. Reploids were crying out for independance and that is exactly what they got."

The holgram showed an old photo of some kind. X and Zero were the only two that the teams recognised. Beside Zero was a brown haired girl in a red and blue dress with a red beret, Zero had an arm around her and the two seemed very close. Beside X stood a formidable Reploid who wore a military outfit in a mix of white, black and red. He had a hand on X's shoulder and seemed to almost brotherly to the Hunter.

"They friends of yours?" Blake asked.

"The Reploid beside me was known as Colonel and the girl's name is Iris. They were siblings and both part of a group know as Repliforce. They were the group wanting independance that I was telling you about. We were happy to help them and Zero grew very close to Iris."

So there was something between them. Judging from X's tone however, the teams knew that it was not going to be a happy ending for them.

"But they were infiltrated early on. Sigma used the Repliforce against us by faking a Maverick attack from them. We went to war with the Repliforce. I had to take down the Colonel and Zero was forced to fight... her."

Blake couldn't help but feel a little bit of a relation to the scenario. She knew that she would have to face Adam as well some day and given his role in the battle of Beacon, she knew that she might very well ahve to kill him too. She wondered just how it must have felt for Zero to do such a thing, and whether she would be able to do it herself when the time came.

Dismissing the thoughts, she listend on as X explained the next major attack; The Eurasia Incident. He told of how Zero gave his life once more to save the world from the colony crashing into it. In turn this led to the rise of the scientist Gate and his use of Zero's DNA for his own purpose. He also told them of the fight with Red Alert and how they discovered his other partner Axl.

"Man, I know he's a villain and all but you gotta give him credit, Sigma was pretty determined. How many schemes did he try against you?" Yang asked.

"Well, funnily enough, there was only one more. Humanity was experimenting with space development and they made advanced Reploids to help with the work."

"Advanced, how?" Ruby said.

"Each of the new generation Reploids was equipped with a copy chip. The chip was designed to change a Reploids DNA and let them take on any form they wanted to. All the data was taken from old model Reploids. Of course, that meant Sigma was included."

"What did he do?" Nora asked, slightly afraid of the response.

"Sigma knew he couldn't keep on going forever himself, so he made sure his ideal remained. Although we fought and killed Sigma for good this time, he had already implanted his ideas into every new Reploid on the planet, while his Virus continued to infect the old model Reploids. Lumine was one of the new generation Reploids that contained his data, and he followed Sigma's ideal to fault."

"We defeated both Sigma and Lumine but the situation on Remnant was out of control, the planet was in anarchy."

X showed scenes of destruction and chaos as Reploids tore each other to pieces and attacked humans without mercy. The image then changed to a utopian looking city.

"Seeing the state of the world, I took it upon myself to fix it. I created a safe city and took any humans and non corrupt Reploids in. In the dark world that Sigma had created, Zero, Axl and I created a haven among the chaos. We called it: Neo Arcadia."

"So, you had a utopia and all the Mavericks were kept away from the city. So tell me X; how did it all go so wrong?" Winter asked.

X sighed. "Neo Arcadia stood for hundreds of years with Zero, Axl and me watching over humanity, as well as eliminating as many threats as we could to try and make Remnant habitable again. The strain was starting to get to us and so, afraid of what would happen if we couldn't take anymore, I created them."

"Xandria and Xevach." Winter concluded.

X explained. "They are siblings, one was made to compliment the other. Xevach was designed to keep humanity safe from internal threats while we went outside Neo Arcadia to destroy the Mavericks. He was also meant to protect Xandria, who was in charge of the logistics and government of Neo Arcadia."

"I designed them from my own DNA. I was convinced they would follow in my footsteps but I couldn't have been more wrong."

The shots changed to images of battle. X fighting Xandria and Zero fighting Xevach.

"Xevach did stay fairly accurate to my expectations. I designed him to be loyal to a fault. He was never to abandon Xandria and was to protect her at all costs. He did that, but it meant having to follow her without question."

"What did she do? Why go against a perfect society?" Ren queried.

"A utopia for both humans and Reploids. For Xandria, that wasn't enough. She started out like me, compasionate and caring. Then she started to see things as she was designed to, logically. She saw that Reploids were superior to humans in every way possible and decided that Reploids should be in charge of the planet."

"She started to work behind my back. She collected data on the Mavericks I had fought and began to reconstruct them for her own use. She even reprogrammed the security systems in Neo Arcadia."

"The Reaverbots!" Jaune put the pieces together.

"With her army created, she began to sweep through Neo Arcadia, killing every human she could find as well as any Reploid sympathisers."

X grunted and placed a hand on his head, going down to one knee. Ruby caught him and pulled him gently back onto his feet.

"What happened there?" A panicked Ruby asked.

"Sorry. Even though most of my memory has been restored, my removal from the capsule did cause some data to be corrupted. I can remeber a little bit more but not everything." X explained.

"Tell us what you can, if that's all you can remember then that's OK."

"Well, I can remember the battle with Xadria and Xevach. It was biblical. The sky was ablaze and the city burned around us. Both Xandria and Xevach had upgraded themselves to improve their abilities. Each time they were weakened, they recovered, stronger than before. I was unable to destroy them so I did the next best thing."

"You sealed them away. Makes sense." Jaune figured out the line of thinking.

"But here's the thing." He added. "If you won, how come you were sealed away?"

"Like I said, Xandria upgraded herself and her brother to near maximum capability, their power level was immense. So much so that they were able to fight back against the stasis system that was keeping them contained. With most of Neo Arcadia's power supply destroyed, Zero and I did the only thing we could. We equalled their power levels, meaning we were the only energy source capable of keeping them contained. Neo Arcadia was left to rust and ruination. The Revaerbots roamed around without purpose and Reploid kind had practically been wiped out. I failed to keep my utopia safe, but at least humanity survived."

The teams were not sure what they had expected. Obviously X's tale was never going to have a happy ending but it was so much worse than they had thought. X had spent his whole life fighting for the hope that peace could be achieved. Only to have it torn from his grasp when it was so close. They couldn't help but feel bad for him.

"Wait. Hold on." Nora was the source of the interuption. "I've been listening to all of this but one thing doesn't make sense here! You were called a Maverick but we're humans, right? Therefore, if you were a Maverick, you would be attacking us, right?"

The other team members all murmmered in agreement. X too was thinking hard, Nora was right after all. None of the acusations of Maverick made any sense. The group was perplexed until Ren spoke up.

"Unless it doesn't mean that anymore."

The teams all looked at him, bewildered by this train of thought but letting him explain himself regardless.

"Maverick, in your mind, means any Robot that goes against humanity. That was the term that was coined for them. But Maverick also has a more general meaning. It's one that we use to this day and, given how our language has not changed much since your time, one that was used in your time as well."

Jaune took out his scroll and searched for the definition. "Maverick... Maverick... Here we go!"

maverick

ˈmav(ə)rɪk/

 _noun_

noun: **maverick** ; plural noun: **mavericks**

 **1**. an unorthodox or independent-minded person.

"Someone unorthodox." Ren explained. "In other words, someone who does things their own way, a different way. Or in Neo Arcadia's case, the wrong way."

"You mean..." Weiss started.

"Yes." Ren replied. "It's not just X. Anyone or anything that goes against Neo Arcadian rule is considered a Maverick in their eyes."

"That's what Xandria meant by Zero doing what he had always done." X realised. "He is still hunting Mavericks, by which she means..."

"Us." Ruby finished.

Winter condensed the discussion with ease. "So what you are saying is we are up against two beings of legendary power, a group of your most ferocious enemies, an entire army of Reaverbots supported by an army of Grimm plus whatever else their technology can make AND the White Fang following their own agenda."

The long list of opponents made the mood in the room drop to absolute zero. It was an uphill battle and that was a vast understatement. No one wanted to just give up but they all had to admit, their chances were slim.

Ruby moved to the centre of the group with a heroic pose. "Impossible odds, huh? Sounds like the sort of thing we're used to! You never gave up on your dream of a utopia after what Xandria did, right? Well neither are we! We'll take on those Neo Arcadians, we'll take on the White Fang and we'll kick their butts!"

Ruby placed drew Crescent Rose, holding it upright like a flagpole.

"Who's with me?" She called, scanning the faces of her friends as each drew their own weapon, minus Yang who gave a loud "WOOP!" instead.

"It's been a fight worth fighting, X. We aren't going to give up now!" Ruby defiantly said to him.

X drew his buster and joined Ruby in her dramatic posing. "Neither am I! It's not going to be easy but we can still win!"

"It's not a case of we can win." Winter said.

As she did so, the mugshots of the villains all appeared on the screen, Vile, Neo and Adam included.

"We HAVE to."


	30. Under New Management

_**So, we have an explanation for the main villains, I think it's time we caught up with our other little group. Let's see what's happening, shall we?**_

 _ **Grimlock987: As I said, Salem's faction is not in this.**_

 _ **Guest: Again, Salem won't be an issue since she and her group are not in this. As for Weil and Omega, no. They were not planned and to shoehorn them in would be a discredit to their excellent characters. Now if I ever do a sequel to this? Maybe that could be the premise!**_

 _ **Pea Brain Writer: Well let me be one to say you have an excellent grasp of English when typing it. Your reviews are very clear and a pleasure to read. English is a hard language to learn if it is not your native tongue so you have my deepest respect for that. As for your story, could you provide a link? If you go to the trouble of translating my story then I feel I should do the same with yours, it sounds like something I would enjoy!**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: FIGHT RWBY AND X! FOR EVERLASTING PEACE!**_

 _ **Anyway, let's roll!**_

Life on Remnant hid from the ferocious storm that blew over the lands. It was common for such powerful weather events to hit at this time of year but the timing of it almost seemed like a movie. Nations were still reeling from the news of Vale's destruction, with many unsure as to what the future held. The mood of the planet was almost portrayed by the storm.

It was certainly the mood of many in a large camp in one of the forests of Vale. The flickering glow of fires and torches made a beautiful image against the dark sky, a tone that was not reflected in the camp itself. All around the perimeter, armed White Fang members stood guard with weapons primed. They showed no sign of disturbance, even as the rain rattled on their armour and drenched them to the bone.

Despite the White Fang's brutal tendencies, they treated their comrades as though they were their own kin. Several members giving extra garments and food to those on duty, some even volunteering to take over watches pre-emptively to give their brethren shelter. Theirs was a unity that was brought about not by necessity or money but by a shared interest and a common goal.

A goal that, unbeknownst to them, was about to be removed.

In the large central tent, the leaders of the White Fang met. Some were male, some female. Some were brutal, others wanted to be more diplomatic. Right now though, they were all in a very fractious mood for the exact same reason.

"Anyone know what the hell is going on here?" A male bear faunus asked. His claws drawn.

"From what I heard, Cinder bit the dust." A deer girl responded calmly.

"There has been no word from Torchwick either. He was scheduled to rob another supply train two days ago." Another spoke through a mechanical device on his neck. Being a fish faunus was great for helping breathe underwater, on land though? Not so much.

"So they went a got themselves killed? RAGH!"

The bear faunus flipped the table he was at over, it's contents flying across the tent. His drink almost hit the deer faunus but a quick tilt of her head let it zip past and smash against a nearby torch stand.

"Why did we even bother letting them in on this operation? Adam and those two have changed this organisation, and not for the better!"

The sound of footsteps approaching made all present turn their attention to the entrance to the tent. The guards standing to attention as they approached.

"Speaking of Adam..." The girl quietly spoke.

(Insert music: Megaman X7 – Black Plotting)

Pulling the fabric covering aside, Adam entered the tent. Immediately, all those present rose to bow respectfully. They straightened up however as two others entered the tent.

Neo and Vile.

The mood immediately changed. One of respect to that of anger and betrayal. Vile and Neo were understandably getting some very vicious looks. There had long been suspicion that Vile and Neo were working with Adam and it was not a popular decision. Adam motioned for them all to be seated with a wave of his hand before he, Vile and Neo all moved to the large table at the back of the tent.

Adam took his place at the head of the group and sat with folded arms. The silence remained as Vile sweeped over the annoyed faces and placed his arms behind his head, enjoying the anger around the room.

"Ah." Vile sighed. "These are nice digs! A little low tech but hey, you make do with what you have."

Neo gave a small giggle, her hand covering her mouth before the bear faunus took the centre stage, standing in the middle of the members of the White Fang.

"So it's true then. The tin can and the ice cream cone are working with you, Adam.

"Well hello to you too grizzly boy." Vile tutted, mocking a mood of offence while Neo simply blew a kiss in his direction. Those present took little notice.

The deer girl took over. "As 'charmed' as we are to have you two with us, there is a more pressing concern that we share. Adam, care to explain why many of our loyal troops are currently at Beacon in various states of dismemberment? We gave you a majority of our forces, just as we were instructed to. We had rather hoped you would be returning them to us."

"We still can... well, whatever is left of them anyway. Gahahaha!" Vile joked.

"You insolent little-" The deer faunus slammed her table. "Those were my brothers and sisters in arms!"

"Well now they're your brothers and sisters in pieces."

The deer faunus readied a kunai to throw but reluctantly backed down when Adam held a hand up.

He spoke to them all in a calm and calculative tone. "Disregarding my allies attempts at wit, I must inform you all that the losses were not intentional. It seems that the Hunters other enemy has technology we do not understand yet. As I am sure you can appreciate, their appearance was... less than desirable."

The robotic voice of the fish faunus now filled the room. "Less than desirable you say. Losing half of our own forces, as well as the Grimm army we had spent months preparing? Yes, it is 'less than desirable'. It's a disaster is what it is!"

"A disaster that we can recover from." Adam responded, not wanting to get drawn into a shouting match.

"I'm glad you think so because, frankly, I disagree. Not to mention the fact that everyone in this meeting is on the same side here and it's the side that says you leave!"

"Is that so?"

"Given your recent actions, Adam, we the White Fang leaders believe you are no longer fit to be in charge of our operations." The deer faunus said. "Before all this, Cinder and Roman were there to keep you and your two partners in check. With them gone however, you have been let off the leash. It's not a situation we are happy with."

All those present, except for Adam stood, the deer faunus appearing to be their de facto leader as she spoke for them.

"We don't intend to let the White Fang fall. In order to do that, we must remove you from your position as leader."

"It's treason then?" Adam asked.

"You can still walk away." The girl continued. "Take Vile and Neo and leave. We don't care where you go, so long as it is away from here."

"Oh I don't think that option will be necessary. This is actually quite beneficial to us." Adam smiled as he stood and drew Wilt. Neo drew her rapier as well and Vile loaded his cannon.

"We had to finish clearing house anyway."

As soon as those words left his lips, a group of faunus entered the room. They wore the same outfit as the White Fang grunts except it was all black and the face masks fully obscured the face. They cocked their guns and aimed them at the White Fang members present.

"The White Fang was a fight for equality. A brutal and destructive fight, but one that was for equality none the less. These past few weeks though, they have made me see what we truly are."

"What are you babbling about?" The deer girl demanded.

"The White Fang is no longer fit for our goal. Our goal is not equality, it is annihilation! The complete and total dominance of the superior races!"

"You... you are going against our beliefs, our order?"

"Precisely."

Vile then joined in. "Going against the status quo? Rejecting what was already established? It's funny, I think there's a word for that!"

Neo now approached the chair where Adam was previously seated. Behind it was a large White Fang emblem, embroidered upon a large flag. Stabbing it through, she tore downwards, letting the sound of shredding fabric fill the air. Behind it was another flag, obviously put there before hand.

It bore upon it a symbol. It was purple, blue and yellow in colouration. Upon first glance, it looked like a robotic beast with yellow eyes that lacked pupils, and several sharp teeth in it's top and bottom jaws.

A symbol that was alien to the White Fang members but one that Vile knew all too well. An ancient image that told of stories of rebellion, of wanting to change the world through war and death.

The symbol of the Mavericks.

Those who had tried to take power from Adam just moments ago, were seeing just the face of what his leadership had done. His loyal followers, which seemed to be most of the remaining members had willingly changed sides for him.

"Before our new order can be made however, the old one must be removed."

With those words, the new Maverick grunts opened fire on their former superiors with special blaster rifles (courtesy of Vile). The various leaders fell where they stood. The one exception being the deer girl.

With her animal abilities granting her increased agility, she dodged the shots and ran for the tent exit. A Maverick grunt that stood in her way was swiftly kicked to the side, landing with a groan as she made her escape. The other Maverick faunus moved to pursue her but Adam halted them as Vile and Neo walked off after the runaway.

Sprinting out into the camp, the deer girl found the situation was just as bad as she had feared. The camp was ablaze, the few White Fang members that remained were either fighting for survival or running away. No matter which option they chose, they were gunned down regardless. One of the Maverick faunus wielded a flamethrower and was going around the camp torching the tents, trees and any White Fang unlucky enough to be in range.

Speechless at the sight before her, the deer faunus shook as she heard loud mechanical footsteps approaching behind her. Turning quickly, she was immediately hit by a blast from Vile's shoulder cannon. As the girl strained to get up, Neo paced over to her and drew the sword from her umbrella.

"No! Please! No-aaagh!"

The deer girl's screams filled the air as Neo stabbed her already wounded form.

"Man oh man, I have missed this!" Vile said.

The faunus girl strained as she tried to pull Neo's blade out of herself, moving it slightly though, it was pushed back in by the ice cream themed foe. Falling back down, the girl tried to steady her breathing and asked them one simple question.

"Why? Why are you doing this? We only fighting for peace. To be rid of those who would hurt our own kind. People like Schnee and those Hunters."

Vile knelt down beside her. "You want the answer babe? Because it's all pointless. Sure you can try to justify your fighting by your morals, ethics and all that bullshit but I know the truth."

Gesturing to the burning ruins and screaming victims around the area, Vile laughed heartily.

"Hahaha! This world was made for destruction and chaos, just like it always has been! Hunters, the White Fang, Neo Arcadia, it doesn't matter. Mayhem, doom and destruction, that's what this world was made for!"

"That's the beauty of us Mavericks. No greater good, no just cause, no grand plan. Just our own personal gain and a whole lot of chaos!"

"What?" The girl gasped. "Your insane!"

"Sure I am, what's your point? GAHAHAHHA!"

With that final exchange, Neo twisted her blade and the deer faunus fell silent. Neo withdrew her weapon from the victim and licked a little of the blood off it. It was good but she would not be satisfied. Not until the blood of teams RWBY and JNPR had been sampled as well!

 _ **Patch Island – Atlesian Army HQ**_

" _We shall meet again, my love"._

Six words that haunted Blake ever since she had heard them. To be honest though, every word that had come from her former mentor haunted her. It was just those six words were most paralysing.

It wasn't the fear of meeting Adam again for herself, far from it, she knew full well she would have to do that someday. No, it was the fear of what he could do to her friends that scared her to death. Since she had gone to Beacon, her life had gotten so much better, she felt so far removed from her old ways of working with the White Fang. She felt at peace and the thought that Adam could take all that from her was too much to bear.

In the end she had finally gotten the chance to speak to X, though it had taken her far longer than she would have liked to. She played the conversation back over in her head. Having managed to pull X aside, the two had gone to a quiet area at the back of the base. Naturally X was confused but he went along with it anyway.

"What's all this about Blake?" He asked her.

"I wanted to talk to you... about Adam."

X pulled both his hands down over his face and let out a sigh. Things were hectic enough without Adam Taurus being another thorn in his side. X had expected Blake to talk to him about a plan of action or some other such idea, but her forlorn expression told him this was more serious than that.

"Why me though?"

"I... I hope you'll understand. We're actually going through something pretty similar. You have your own dark past, and I have mine."

"Not sure I follow."

Blake hesitated for a moment before she went on. "Adam isn't just some bolt from the blue. There is reason he is after us. I... I was his partner."

X was understandably surprised by this news. "You were a part of the White Fang?"

"It was a mistake. That was something I learned a long time ago. While I was there though, Adam and I grew very close, to the point he would consider us lovers. When I saw how barbaric his ways were though, I realised I couldn't stay with him."

"So you ran?"

A nod from the faunus. "I fled the camp and Ozpin took me into Beacon. Since then, I've been able to get my life back on track. I'll still help this world, but not from the guise of a terrorist group."

"So, that's why Adam is after your team, he wants you back."

X had, unintentionally, found that vain bit of hope that Blake still held on to. "I know what he did makes him seem like a monster and I know what he did to Yang is unacceptable but..."

"But what?"

"... I don't think he had a choice."

X was not convinced but let Blake go along this line of thinking. "What makes you say that?"

"He was with Vile."

That one line made Blake's theory seem a little more plausible. Vile may not have been the most tactical of enemies but he could forge alliances, forcefully if need be. It also made sense why he would choose Adam; Vile had already rejected the Council's help and as Blake said, both he and Adam were in a similar position. Vile could easily work with Adam, not the most sound decision tactically but one that was driven by a shared desire.

"Even so, that is no guarantee of your theory being true."

Blake looked at X like she had just been betrayed. "You don't believe me? I know Adam, he would never let someone like Vile take over his role!"

"Blake! Calm yourself and listen! It's a noble cause. Even after what he did to Yang and you, I don't believe Adam deserves to die or to serve under Vile and if anything, I think Adam may actually listen to you."

Blake brought herself back to calm as X continued.

"He won't listen to any of us, you are the only one who might be able to talk some sense into him, Blake. When the time comes, we will go after him and we will do everything in our power to try and save him."

X placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "That's a promise, alright?"

Blake smiled with relief as X moved his hands off her shoulders and started to head off down to the command centre. Blake watched him go, still smiling, at least until he was out of sight.

Now, here she was in her room, packing her old survival kit bag, the Beacon emblem still upon it with all that she would need for her journey. She knew that it was risky to go alone, she couldn't even tell her friends but from what she had seen, Vile wasn't the sort to delay for long. If she was ever going to get Adam back, she had to go now.

With her gear packed and the bag over her shoulders, she leapt through the open window and quickly scaled the security fence that lined the perimeter of the base. As she walked away, she took one last look back. It wasn't too late, she could always ask for help but... no, she had to do this without them. Adam would only listen to here and she would not allow her friends to be hurt again.

With her goal in mind, Blake ran from the base, heading into a nearby forest. She had to find Adam and get him out of there.

 _ **Uh oh, someone let the cat out again! Will Blake be able to save Adam? What about her friends?**_

 _ **Tune in next time to find out!**_

 _ **Also... MERRY CHRISTMAS AS THIS PART CAME OUT ON 24th DECEMBER!**_

 _ **Until next time TOODLE PIP!**_


	31. Going Astray

_**Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and got what you wanted! I know I did but now I'm ready to get back into this!**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: Well, sometimes it's just hard to let those we loved go. She will have to face the truth soon though.**_

 _ **Grimlock987: Who's to say that hasn't happened all ready? Read every chapter closely ;) As for the silver eyed warriors, they do have a role. Not telling it yet though!**_

 _ **Guest: I know right. Can't blame her for trying though!**_

 _ **Pea Brain Writer:Ah I see. I thought you were actually translating my story from English to your mother tongue! My apologies for the mix up. A shame I will not be able to read yours, it sounded very interesting but good luck regardless!**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: Funny how Blake seems to be the only one who doesn't know that!**_

 _ **On we go!**_

Yang took a deep breath in, then out. She was steeling herself up, though not for the usual reasons. She lay back and stared past the illuminating lamps and straight at the ceiling, thinking to herself that this would all be fine. Heck, she wouldn't even be awake for most of it! That still didn't put her fully at ease though.

Looking to her side, she saw X sterilising his hands with a chemical spray. He was also checking the equipment he would be using. Despite X not being designed as a medical unit, he was able to download any information directly into his own brain. After hearing this, Yang decided she wanted him to be the one to replace her lost arm.

"You sure you want em to do this Yang? The Schnee medics would do a pretty good job you know."

Yang sat upright and rolled her eyes. "X, baby, those Schnee guys would just give me a run of the mill robot arm. You on the other hand, no pun intended, you can use some of your tech knowledge on me as well!"

"So, just to make sure I understand, you want me to give you a buster cannon arm?"

"You got it! I mean... if you're okay with it."

"I'm fine with it. Just promise you won't go nuts after you're all set up."

Yang crossed her fingers behind one side of the bed. "Promise."

Satisfied, X placed a breathing mask over her face and turned on the anaesthetic, the hissing sound filling the room as Yang started to get drowsy. The last thing she saw was X holding up a surgical saw with a slightly twisted smile on him.

As X removed the bandage on her arm and got to work, Ruby was watching from the observation room just above them. Not that she had the stomach to watch any more, she knew Yang would be fine but seeing blood and gore was not something the young huntress was planning on doing before lunch.

Despite her optimism earlier on with the rest of her friends, in truth she was actually terrified of what was to come. Penny had already been lost to these new enemies, she couldn't stomach the thought of losing anyone else. It was true what had been said earlier, there was no choice in the matter, they had to win now. There was no denying that the odds were stacked against them though.

Sighing, she made her way across the base and started to pass through the hangar. She ignored all the hustle and bustle of troops and pilots running back and forth for the most part. She only turned her head upon seeing a Bullhead land near her. As soon as the doors opened, several civilians climbed out of the side doors. Some of them had bad wounds and looked like they had been pulled from the battle of Beacon itself!

As many could tell you though, these refugees were from all over Vale. Since Neo Arcadia had taken control of the Grimm, the number of attacks had ramped up viciously. Only a few small patches of Vale were still safe and they couldn't afford to give them up so easily, if they did, Vale may never be habitable again.

Watching as they were led away from the hangar, Ruby felt a small tug on her cape. Turning, she saw a child was the one responsible.

The child was a young girl, probably no older than five or six. She was wrapped up in a blanket but her bright blue eyes and blonde hair still shone forth. She wasn't badly injured but one could see she had been through a few scrapes to get here.

"Hey there kiddo!" Ruby softly spoke, kneeling down to the child's level. "I think the rest of your family went on ahead."

The child ignored her and spoke quietly. "Are you a maiden?"

Ruby was a little surprised by that question. "I'm sorry?"

"A maiden. My mummy told me about them. She told me how they have super powers and try to protect the world."

Ruby humoured the child. "Is that so? What makes you think I'm one of them?"

"One of the soldiers pointed you out. He told me how you fought at Beacon and tried to protect everyone who was there. Only a maiden would be kind enough to do that."

Ruby laughed a little to herself. "No, sorry. I'm no maiden. Just a Huntress who wants to do the right thing."

The child seemed crestfallen and Ruby quickly tried to think of something to make her feel better. Then, one of the soldiers paced over to them, obviously looking for the girl.

"Ah, there you are little one. Come on, your mother thought we had lost you!"

The soldier took the child's hand and started to lead her back towards where the other refugees had gone. Seeing her downer expression, the soldier carried the girl on his shoulder.

"Something wrong kid?"

"I thought I had found a maiden but it was just a Huntress."

Ruby stared at the ground, feeling worse than before. The child hadn't meant anything by it, but her words hit home with Ruby. She was just a Huntress, what good could they do against such a terrifying foe.

"Just a Huntress? My dear girl, that is Miss Ruby Rose! One of the prodigies of Beacon Academy. She and her friends fought against the ones who did this to you, and they nearly won!"

"But...but those bad guys, they're so strong... how can a few Hunters beat them?"

The soldiers next words, though only aimed at the child, resonated deep within Ruby.

"You dared to hope that you could find the maidens and it gave you the strength to find your way past the Grimm, past the Reaverbots and find your way here! For them it's just the same. Because they have hope. Maybe that's all they have. Maybe it's all that any of us fighting have but you know something? It's all we need."

Ruby felt a small tear roll down her cheek. Even after all they had been through, the people were not ready to give up hope. It was silly to think that she was about to.

"Is hope really enough to defeat evil mister?"

"Certainly! Let me tell you about the battle of the Vacuo Plains. It was about three years ago. My platoon and I were facing down an army of five hundred Reaverbots! They lined the ridge for miles! So, what we did was..."

As the soldier weaved his tale together, Ruby watched them go. The child turned once more and caught her gaze. She gave Ruby a small wave, with Ruby returning the gesture until they had gone out of sight. It wasn't going to be pretty, but Ruby wasn't going to give up hope that easily. With a renewed urge to fight on, Ruby made her way across the hangar.

She made it approximately three steps before crashing head first into someone.

"Ow!" Ruby rubbed her head. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you pick these-"

Ruby thought she recognised the suitcase. Pure white with a snowflake emblem on the front and back. Looking up slowly, she saw the white hair and eyes of her teammate.

"Weiss?"

The heiress was just picking up the rest of her suitcases contents and putting them away.

"Well." She began. "This seems awfully familiar. I made sure not to have any red dust lying around in my luggage this time."

The two laughed at the memory of how they had first met.

"Where are you going anyway?" Ruby asked.

"Don't panic, I'm not jumping ship from our team."

"Curses!" Ruby joked.

"I'm just taking a trip to Atlas. The base is low on supplies and soldiers. As one of the more prominent figures from the Schnee corporation, I'm hoping I can get us some more from the Atlesian army. I'd... *sigh*... I'd also like to try and set things right with my father."

Ruby twiddled her thumbs slightly. "Well, it should be a few more days until we get our operations underway."

"I don't intend to be gone that long."

With that, Weiss strode past Ruby and headed for her ship. Ruby stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Weiss... Good luck."

Weiss smiled back and gently removed Ruby's hand. She then handed her luggage to one of the crew before boarding. Ruby watched her do so and started to walk on just as the ship took off and left the hangar.

A quick rumble of her stomach made Ruby remember why she was walking around in the first place: Lunch! And if anyone had taken all the cookies, there would be hell to pay!

 _ **Team JNPR's Quarters**_

It had been a long couple of weeks, for Pyrrha especially. After her visit to the medical bay, which had taken far longer than she thought, she then had to give a full debrief on what had happened. Even when she was fully recovered her work was not done. As well as keeping up her and her teams training, she was also roped in to helping other Hunters with theirs!

It made sense to be honest, she was one of the best Hunters remaining. It just left her so tired. One of the prices you pay when you're at war she guessed. Well at least now she finally had a chance to rest. Lying on her bed, her eyes shut almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Sometimes you have dreams, sometimes nightmares and sometimes dreams that are so crazy that they would never happen in real life. Thankfully, Pyrrha realised she was dreaming of happier times. She was back at Beacon before it was destroyed, relaxing with her friends on the grassy areas beside one of the pathways to the academy.

Most of them were just sitting or lying down on the grass, chatting to one another. Nora, being the hyperactive girl she was, had brought a football with her (somehow branded with her signature pink hearts) and was having a heated 1v1 game with Yang.

Nora made a desperate dive for the ball as Yang rocketed it past her. The ginger girl skidded along the ground just as the ball past her.

"Yes! 3-1!" Yang cheered.

Nora dusted herself off and readied her kick.

"Oh yeah? Just wait until you get a load of my 'Thunder Strike'!"

Nora focused her semblance and her body began to spark with electricity! Running at the ball, she kicked it with enough force to transfer the energy into the ball itself. It shot forward with lightning streaming off it. Yang thought about standing her ground for a moment but decided it really wasn't worth it. Diving out of the way, the ball zoomed past her and hit one of the pillars nearby, toppling it over in a cloud of dust.

"Ummm... oops?" Nora scratched the back of her head with a sheepish grin on her face.

The others simply laughed it off as Yang gave Nora friendly dig on the shoulder. Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh too at her friends antics. Then out of the corner of her vision, she saw two figures, chatting to each other.

She turned to get a good look at them but even though it was broad daylight, the two seemed like shadows, silhouettes. Their voices too, were androgynous sounding, she couldn't tell who or what they were.

" _She is still stable?"_ One said.

" _Yes, but she still continues to resist!"_

" _Don't talk here, she might hear us._

The figures started to walk away. Since this was just a dream, Pyrrha decided to leave her friends to whatever they were doing and follow the figures. They stood under the shade of some trees nearby. When she reached them, they were halfway through the conversation.

" _It may have a negative impact on the unit."_

" _Increase the suppressants and monitor her, it is vital that we-"_

The two turned to look at Pyrrha. She thought she had better run and tell her friends, even if they were only a dream version of themselves.

 _Oh. Are you listening in on us? Naughty naughty."_

One of the figures raised their hand to a button on his wrist. Before they pressed it, they said one final thing.

" _Time to wake up."_

Pyrrha awoke in reality with a startled expression on her face. She had only dozed off for a moment and it had happened again.

The dreams.

She couldn't see anything in them, but she always heard those voices. What did they mean though? Was she stable? It wasn't like she was in a coma or anything. And resisting what exactly?

She made her way to their bathroom and splashed some cold water on her face, allowing the refreshing feeling to wash over her. She felt at peace, until she looked into the mirror.

It was her reflection, that was certain but... for a moment she swore that she saw... something else.

"Hey, Pyrrha?"

Turning to the voice, she found the rest of her team looking at her. Jaune in particular seemed concerned.

"You alright? You look like you just saw a ghost."

Pyrrha pushed the dreams to one side and gave Jaune her best smile. "I'm fine Jaune but thank you for your concern."

Thankfully, he and her teammates seemed to buy it. Or at least they saw she didn't want to talk about it.

"Well, we came to get you before we go and see Yang. She wanted to show off her new arm." Jaune explained. "Only if your up for it... y'know."

"That's OK Jaune, I'll come along now."

As the team left their room, Pyrrha took a look back, the voices still nagging her somewhat as she did so. Closing the door, she followed the rest of her team and tried to leave those voices far behind.

 _ **Infirmary – Discharge Area**_

As the rest of RWBY and JNPR gathered, Yang and X stood beside each other, covering Yang's right arm by hiding it behind their forms. Ruby was barging in, trying to get a peek at the new weapon.

"Come on sis! Let me see!" she begged.

Yang waved her down and the teams quietened down a bit as Yang cleared her throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen... and Ruby."

Ruby pouted a little.

"I'd like to introduce you to my new weapon/appendage. I give to you: Ember Vindicta!"

Pulling her arm out from behind her back, Yang displayed her new weapon for all to see. It was similar in shape to X's buster cannon but with a slight diagonal shape at the edge of the barrel, making the top of the buster move out slightly further than the bottom. It was in Yang's signature yellow colour with glowing red highlights along it. Inside the barrel was a flaming red crystal.

A few whirrs and clanks came as the weapon transformed. Out of the barrel came Yang's robotic hand. It looked very much like a gloved human hand. The fingers and thumb were white while the palm and back were black. Yang gave them a wave, wiggling her new fingers as she did so.

"That...is...AWESOME!" Ruby squealed, rushing over to get a closer look at it.

"You think that's cool? Wait til you see it in action!"

Yang took aim at a nearby pile of explosives. She was about to fire when Winter's hand pushed it down gently.

"The base is not a target range Miss Xiao Long!"

Yang blushed and scratched the back of her head nervously.

"Besides, you may get the chance to use your weapon sooner than you thought."

"What do you mean?" Yang asked.

"Tell me, has anyone seen Miss Belladonna recently?"

The Hunters all looked back and forth at each other, hoping someone would say they had. Alas, no one did.

"That's alright, I'll just call her." Ruby said, getting out her scroll and tapping Blake's number.

A ringing sound came from close by. Too close as it turned out. Winter pulled Blake's scroll out of her pocket and held it up for them all to see.

"So, anyone have any idea where she has gone?" Winter asked.

The group all thought to themselves, where could she be? She hadn't said anything to anyone. Well, except for that conversation with X about...

"Oh no." X said softly before dashing at full speed to Team RWBY's room.

Bashing the door aside, he looked under Blake's bed. His friends arrived just a few moments after he did.

"Her supply bag is gone!" X said.

"It seems Miss Belladonna has gone AWOL on us." Winter concluded.

X took immediate offence to that. "How dare you! Blake would never just leave us without a good reason."

"It seems like you know that reason, X." Winter retorted.

X sighed as he had to give up the truth. "Blake talked to me earlier on, she was worried about him, wanted to try and get him back."

"Who?" Ruby asked.

"Who else? Adam Taurus."

 _ **Aw hell, Blake's been found out! But can her friends get there in time to save her? Or will Blake fall prey to Adam, Vile and Neo?**_

 _ **Until next time.**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	32. Despair and Hope

_**HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!**_

 _ ***Blows party blower***_

 _ **A new year and new adventures for Ruby, X and friends in our story! Long may it continue!**_

 _ **All the reviews are either about how screwed Blake is and theories about Pyrrha. I can't spoil them so, no review answers this time!**_

 _ **On we go!**_

Atop a guard outpost tower, a sentry stood watch. Well... at least he was meant to be. Right now the man at arms was leaning back against a wall playing on his scroll. It's not like the commander would mind. What was there to guard anyway? This was the Schnee family mansion! Thing in here were locked up tighter than a bank! So the sentry found it to be the perfect time to play some games.

 ***Ding** *

An alert popped up on his scroll.

"You kidding me? 10% battery left and still-"

He checked the time.

"-5 hours left on this shift. Dammit!"

Returning the scroll to his pocket, in case a real emergency came up, the sentry decided to do a bit of pacing. Heck, at least it would help pass the time, thinking to yourself was always easier when on the move, he found.

He had just gone along a few times when he heard the distant roar of a ship approaching.

"That's odd."

Pulling out some binoculars, he looked at the ship, trying to spot any insignia to help identify it. His blood ran cold when he realised who it was.

Sprinting away from his post, he ran through a large set of wooden double doors, like those found in castles and sprinted down the corridor. He finally reached the room he seeked, still panting as he tried to catch his breath. Hey, running in full armour is difficult! Having regained himself, the sentry stood to attention and rapped on the door.

"Enter!"

Opening the door carefully, the sentry walked in to what appeared to be a grand office. Behind the desk was an older gentleman in a White suit. He had a white moustache and hair and spoke with a stern tone.

"Um... Mr... Mr Schnee sir! You um... you have a visitor."

"Isn't it usually the butlers who inform me of those sorts of things? I trust you have good reason for abandoning your post?"

The stern tone did not go away, if anything it was even more intense now.

"Y-yes that is *ahem* that is true sir. I just thought that... well... you may want to know about them before they land."

"Really? Who on Remnant could be so vital for me to know about prematurely?"

"It's um... that is to say sir... it is... um..."

"Spit it out man!"

"It's your daughter! Weiss Schnee, sir!"

Jacques Schnee said nothing. He cleared his throat and adjusted his tie before pacing towards the door. Just before he left, he spoke to the sentry.

"Get a squad of men ready. I intend to have some stern words with my daughter and I don't think she will particularly like them. Have weapons set for stun. Just in case."

"What? B-b-b-but-"

A look like ice was all it took to freeze the sentry's will to argue. He quickly saluted and ran off out the door again to prepare as Jacques made his way to the landing pads.

Weiss meanwhile was just disembarking from her ship. The grand castle like structure she called home was just as she remembered it; cold and imposing. That was the way it had to be she supposed, a symbol of power and strength not just to the people, but to other corporations. She just hoped the people who lived inside were not the same.

As she descended the steps from her airship onto solid ground again, she could see her father approaching along with a squad of guards. This wasn't exactly the start she had been looking for. Regardless, she stood patiently to wait for her father as some crew began unloading her baggage.

Jacques did not even bother pretending to be happy to see his daughter again, both he and Weiss knew better than that.

"So, you've come running back home again, daughter?" Jacques said coldly.

Weiss maintained her diplomatic feel as she answered. "Not running, father. I have merely come to ask for assistance."

"As I recall the Schnee family did not rely on charity from others to get by."

"It's not money I am after, father. I am asking for supplies and troops on behalf of all the other nations."

"This is that little 'Resistance' group I've been hearing about, isn't it? I should have known you would follow in your sisters footsteps and turn your back on our family. Have you no honour for your own name?"

Weiss was starting to get irritated. "With respect, father. Becoming a Huntress is one of the most honourable things I can do for our family name. Certainly more honourable than dishonest business dealings and slavery."

The talk of his company in such a manner was enough to drive Jacques over the edge. He swiped his hand quickly to slap Weiss on the cheek. She flinched in expectation of the blow but felt no pain. She heard the sound of it though.

Looking back, she saw one of the servants standing in between her and her father. He had taken the brunt of the slap which had left a reddening mark around his cheek. Weiss was beyond amazed that someone would interrupt her father like that.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, boy? Stand aside, now!"

Without even touching the cheek that had been hit, the servant spoke. He had the voice of a boy in his late teens.

"With all due respect sir, I am hired by the Schnee company as Miss Schnee's protector while she is here. That means I cannot allow her to be hurt, regardless of who tries to. Be it the White Fang or her own family, I would not be doing my job if I allowed that blow to land."

Turning his back on a speechless Jacques, the servant spoke again.

"If I may be so bold ma'am, I suggest retiring to your room. It has been a very long journey after all. I will attend to your belongings and bring them as soon as possible."

Still taken aback by the servant's willingness to prevent her harm, Weiss made her way past her father towards the main doors. Before she reached them though, two guards stood in front of her.

"Your sword please Miss Schnee. We can't have any unauthorised weapons in the building."

Reluctantly, Weiss removed her blade and it's holder and handed it to the guards. They promptly stood aside and let her proceed. The servant then started to follow, wheeling a baggage trolley with all of Weiss' stuff on it. He was stopped too, by Jacques.

"I don't take kindly to servants interfering with my matters. I suggest you watch yourself."

"Sir, protecting Weiss Schnee is my duty and if that means defying you, then that is what I shall do. You may have your own agenda for her sir, but if she comes to any harm as a result of it, I will have to take drastic actions."

Stupefied, Jacques let the servant go and he carried on his way. Jacques was seething underneath and paced off angrily back to his duties.

 _ **Weiss' Room**_

Standing, staring out of the window, Weiss Schnee was still lost in amazement. Few could stand against her father, even she had bowed to his will on many occasions. Yet here was this servant, a simple boy who had braved her father's wrath just to keep her safe. She was interrupted from her train of thought by the door opening and the servant bringing her luggage in.

Upon closer inspection she saw he had spiky ginger hair that extended down into a ponytail that was equally spiky and shiny green eyes. He wore the standard servant outfit but his facial features and hair were enough to make him stand out.

"Here's your bags ma'am."

Feeling his cheek, the servant laughed a little. "Man, your father really knows how to land a hit."

"Yeah." Weiss said sadly. "I know from experience."

She shook her head. "I should never have come back. He knows all about that fight with X and how I've broken off the family ties. Now he's taken my weapon and he's going to keep me prisoner here. I should have known he wouldn't just let it happen!"

"X? Is he that guy I've been hearing everyone talking about recently?"

"Yeah, he's one of my friends. We fought together at Beacon... and against each other at one point. He gave me the courage to turn away from this train wreck of a family, to follow my own path instead of my fathers."

"What does he look like?" The servant asked. "I've heard rumours and stuff like that one that says he is 8ft tall but I wanna hear from someone who knows him."

Weiss laughed a little, the servant was some kind of fan boy it seemed. "He has shining blue armour, almost like a knight from fairy tales. His eyes always carry that caring look on them and when he smiles, it's a smile of optimism, of hope."

The servant nodded in appreciation of the description. "He sounds like a wonderful guy. I hope to meet him someday."

"When I get out of here, I'll take you with me if you want. Call it my way of thanking you for earlier. I really appreciate it, not many can stand up to my father."

"You're welcome." The servant smiled before putting his hands together and rubbing them. "Right! I better get back to work, else your father will have it out for me!"

"I'm pretty sure he has it out for you already."

The servant stuck his tongue out in a jokey manner as he opened the door.

"Miss Schnee."

Weiss looked at him as he was just about to leave.

"This will all work out in the end, just hang on in there."

With that, he shut the door gently and left Weiss to her thoughts once more.

Outside the room, the servant was also in thought, talking to himself. "OK. He's alive and she knows where he is. Now all we need is a plan to get out of here. Just hang on X, I'm on my way."

 _ **Vale Coastline**_

Wind whistled around Blake as she stood on the rocks beside the sea. The weather had taken a turn for the worse, not raining but the wind was picking up and the sky darkened. It was all too fitting as she scouted out the objective.

Through a series of paid information and quote on quote interrogation of stray members, Blake had managed to track down Vile's base of operations, a heavily fortified base on an elevated island just offshore. At least one of them anyway and that was most likely where Adam was going to be.

Would he be willing to escape with her? Was this hunch she had merely false hope? The last few breaths of a girl's dying dream? It was too late to turn back now, if she was wrong here she could at least escape by herself. If she didn't take the risk, she could be throwing away the last chance to save her former lover.

(Insert music: Megaman X8 OST – Sigma Palace)

She began making her way across the rocks. It was low tide right now and that allowed her a path to traverse across, though the small waves still made an effort to knock her off balance.

Successfully crossing to the island, she took shelter for a few moments underneath the cliff face that she was about to scale. The cliff extended outwards as it got higher which would make the climb a bit more challenging.

Blake fired Gambol Shroud up at the top of the cliff, the blade end embedding itself in the rock. She tugged on the wire attached to it to ensure it was secure. Satisfied, she wound the other end around her wait and began her ascent up the cliff. Normally she could acrobatically make her way up in a few seconds but this was a stealth mission first and foremost, she didn't want the enemy to know she was here so a slower approach was ideal.

As she approached the halfway point, her ears pricked up as she heard the sound of a small engine. Quickly, she swung herself against the cliff face and nestled herself in one of the small gaps in the rock, blending in with the shadows they produced as she looked for the source of the sound.

A small robot was flying around the cliff face. It was pink and purple with blue light eyes and two spikes at the bottom. On it's top was a propeller like a helicopters. A Jamminger. Blake had seen these in the Schnee database. Seems Vile got some use from that data after all.

It flew around it's usual patrol route, scouring the cliff side for any potential intruders. It stopped suddenly with a small bleep when it saw the wire Blake was using to ascend the cliff. Blake could hear the small robot right above her, it was following the rope down to it's source, making curious noises as it did so.

Blake readied her other gun and aimed it where she knew the robot would be appearing. She held her breath and waited.

The robot saw that the wire was now changing direction, losing it's tightness and moving in towards one of the gaps in the rocks. Intent on finding out about this, it flew closer and followed the rope in. It was pitch black inside the small crevasse and so it activated it's lights.

In return, it was met with the piercing yellow eyes of Miss Belladonna before her gun was held up to it and fired. The bullet shred through the base of the propeller and sent the robot tumbling into the sea below, bouncing off he cliff a few times as it did so.

With the coast clear, Blake climbed out and continued to make her way up to the top.

At the edge of the base, overlooking the ocean, a lone White Fang Maverick stood guard. It was a peaceful job and the view only served to make the experience even more pleasant. As he looked around over the pristine view, his ears picked up a faint sound. Someone struggling, grunts and groans and they were coming from... underneath him?

Confused, the guard made his way over to the ledge and peered over. He caught a glimpse of a rope and someone climbing up it before he felt the wire being wrapped around his leg.

"Woah!" he cried as he was pulled off the side and left hanging upside down in the air.

As he waved around frantically, he looked down (what was now above to him from this angle) and saw Blake waving at him.

"Do me a favour. Mind the rope for me!"

The guard reached to his chest pocket for a communicator, which he couldn't find until Blake showed that she had pinched it.

"Hang around for a bit. I don't intend to be long."

With that, Blake pulled herself onto the ledge and swiped the door with the guards security card. She sprinted in as soon as they opened and began her task of finding Adam, hopefully with few guards in the way.

 _ **Vile's Base – Control Room**_

"Aw, isn't that cute? She thinks she snuck in!" Vile cooed, watching Blake scurry around on the monitors. "Unit 74, go and rescue the guard."

" _You got it boss."_

"Everyone else, see that she makes her way to Sector 7. I'm on my way down there now with Neo. Adam, you all set for her?"

" _Absolutely."_ Adam replied on the comm line before putting it away and speaking to himself.

"Come to me little kitty. Come and face the truth and weep in despair, you will lead X and your friends to their own destruction."

 _ **Remember the servant, he'll be important later! So yeah, Blake is on course to find Adam, but not on her terms. Will she be able to make it out okay? Or will X and co. fall victim to Adam and Vile's scheme?**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP**_


	33. A Harsh Truth

_**Just a wee a advertisement guys. I know most of you are here for this story, but I am writing a couple of others. Your support for them would be greatly appreciated. Head on over to my profile page and check them out if you like!**_

 _ **Reviews time!**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: Agreed, Blake is all about stealth and speed.**_

 _ **MetaLX99: oh you! :3**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: MWAHAHAHA!**_

 _ **Gravenimage: Oh we all know she is dead in the actual series. I was talking about theories for this story though!**_

 _ **Pea Brain Writer: Ah yes, the legendary bourbon panel from the comics! I do intend to put something like that in, was just waiting for the right moment!**_

 _ **Vc1500: Glad to see you're enjoying the story. As for the servant... I'll let you figure that out!**_

 _ **Atom king: Thank you.**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Welcome aboard our little story! Hope you enjoy your stay!**_

Scurrying through the seemingly endless hallways, Blake carried on tirelessly. She had been scouring the base for ages, hoping to find Adam somewhere close by. As misfortune would have it however, she was having no luck so far.

That was most likely due to the fact that half the hallways were sealed off by various blast doors. Each one bore the maverick logo upon them, the snarling creature hidden within the symbol staring into Blake's soul and telling her that she would find no mercy from those who resided within.

Speaking of those within, Blake had to admit, she hadn't seen many enemies thus far. The only theory she could think of was that Vile and his associates hadn't got the resources to cover the whole base yet, thus they were guarding key areas like the prison cells, main control centre and weapons stores. That of course also meant that where there were enemies, Adam would most likely be there too under guard!

As she ran along, Blake noticed a vertical shaft up ahead and within it, were several enemies. Only two varieties but they were numerous and seemed to be stationed there to guard something. Blake figured this was her best bet.

The shaft had several platforms coming out of the walls on either side, extending about halfway across the shaft. The enemy guards consisted of Dodge Blasters located on each wall and Hoganmers, one on each platform stationed near the edge so as to prevent trespassers ascending.

She noticed an access ladder on the wall just next to her. Bracing herself, she started to ascend through the small opening to the base of the shaft.

Poking her head out of the top, she was forced to duck back down immediately as a metallic leg nearly stood on her! Once the robot had passed over her, she looked back up and saw that there were three Ball De Voux on patrol in the hallway. They were fairly simple as they just seemed to walk back and forth relentlessly, Vile clearly wasn't a good programmer.

Blake drew Gambol Shroud and waited for her moment to strike, just as the first Ball De Voux was passing over her. As it did so, she slashed once at it's ankles, chopping off the feet with surgical precision. The foe fell face first to the ground, shattering it's red crystal eye as it made impact.

Startled, the other two Ball De Voux turned and peered down the ladder access port, lowering their bodies so as to see clearly. They approached the ladder on opposite sides, perfect.

Leaping up into their field of view, Blake thrust both blades out to her sides, hitting the Ball de Voux in their main bodies, destroying them instantly. They fell to the ground with a clatter as Blake pulled her blades back out of their twitching remains. Now all that remained for her to traverse was the shaft itself.

It was strange though. Her battle with the Ball De Voux had not exactly been the quietest affair. Surely a loud enough noise would have been made when her enemy fell that those in the shaft above her would be reacting? Yet they just remained in their positions, exactly as when she had left them.

Part of Blake's intuition was telling her something wasn't right, that this was all too easy. Then the other part came in, much louder than the warnings to herself, the part that told her she was just getting lucky and that she had to press on to find Adam.

Realising there would be no way of ascending the shaft quietly given the numerous enemies everywhere, Blake decided to use her speed to take the enemies out before they knew what hit them. She leapt upwards and saw a Hoganmer just below her, with her blades raised, she slashed downwards.

"HIYAH- What the hell?"

The blades passed right through the Hoganmer, just as she expected them to but the robot was still intact. What's more, it didn't react to her being there either. Blake reached out a hand and tried to touch it, only to have her hand go right through as well.

"A hologram?"

Looking above her, she saw that none of the enemies were reacting to her presence. She leapt up to the next platform and checked the enemies there. Again they were mere projections, not real robots. Why though? What was the point of setting up fake enemies?

A sudden rumbling all around Blake told the faunus girl that she was about to find out the reason why.

The shaking started to knock the platforms loose, save for the ground floor where she was. Darting left and right, Blake narrowly avoided the debris as it fell around her. Looking around, she saw one of the walls coming closer to her. That was certainly odd, but even more odd was the pattern of decoration no the wall.

It looked like ancient Egyptian that X had told her about. Several strange markings decorating the wall as well as fine jewellery and gold drawings across it. Most striking of all though, were the two eagle heads that met in the middle with giant, hollow, empty eye sockets. Beneath them was a drawing of the sun. It was more three dimensional than the rest, sticking out of the wall slightly.

The rumbles finally ceased as the wall clicked itself into position. Then, silence followed. What exactly was the point of all that? Blake carefully approached the wall and rubbed over it with her hand. Maybe there was a switch here or something?

As she looked over it, she looked up and gasped as she saw the empty eagle eyes now had some coloured crystal eyes in them. They were both looking at her and they didn't look particularly friendly!

(Insert music: Megaman X5 OST – Rangda Bangda)

Rangda Bangda began the battle with the use of it's green crystal eyes. They fired out a concentrated stream of energy shots that aimed directly at where Blake was. As luck would have it, the enemy did not lead it's shots, letting Blake out run them for the most part. A few did manage to find their target but her upgraded Gambol Shroud blades were able to destroy the shots before they hit her.

The eyes retracted back to their sockets and the lids closed briefly before reopening with a pair of blue crystal eyes. This time they did not fire any projectiles but instead rushed straight at Blake, catching her off guard.

The first smashed into her with full force, knocking the faunus girl to the ground. Coughing as she tried to get some breath back into her lungs, Blake just managed to roll to the side as the second eye tried to slam down on top of her. The eye gave chase and zoomed across the room for another strike. Blake thrust both her blades forward, embedding them in the eye. She then used her momentum to throw the eye over her. It slid off the blades and smacked against the wall, cracking slightly before returning with it's brother to the eye sockets.

Blake readied herself for the eyes to return again, instead she felt more rumbling from around her. Surveying the room quickly, she saw the walls on either side of her closing in quickly. They came to a sudden halt after covering about a third of the room each. Blake was unsure what this was supposed to achieve until her heightened sense of hearing picked up the sound of clanking mechanisms beneath her.

She leapt up and summoned one of her illusions underneath herself. The illusion grabbed the real Blake by the leg and threw her towards the wall, giving the real Blake the extra momentum she needed. Stabbing Gambol Shroud into it to anchor herself against the wall, she looked back down at the floor. Several large rotating blades were now in place of the regular floor, if she had stuck around she would have been cat food!

"Nice try but your blades aren't going to hurt me up here!" She smirked.

It was quickly wiped from her face though as the sun image that was at the bottom of the wall came off it's fixing and hovered near the floor. The licks of flame that encircled it started to spin wildly like a giant buzz saw! It then fired a jet booster briefly from one side and started to bounce around the room, making sparks fly off the walls as it made contact with them.

Sheer luck (and a bit of physics) brought the saw close to Blake's position. Using all her weight, she pulled down on her blade handle. The metal was still somewhat flexible and as it pinged back up, she launched herself with the momentum to ascend even higher up the wall. Using her other blade, she embedded herself on the ceiling. A mere second later, the lade hit the wall where Blake formerly was. She wiped her brow in relief as the saw finally returned to it's position on the wall and the walls moved back.

The eyes opened once more, this time with different colours on each one. The cracked one was a blue eye and the new colour was a red eye. The red one made it's way to the centre of the room. It glowed for a split second before firing two large energy beams constantly, one at the floor and one at the ceiling. It then slowly started to rotate clockwise, bringing the beam closer to Blake's position.

With a running start, she began to ascend the wall, still running at top speed so she would not fall. Of course, the red eye was only half her problem, as she soon found out when the blue eye slammed against the wall next to her!

Now she was in trouble! The beam was coming close behind her and the wall was about to run out! Blake knew she didn't have the momentum behind her to run across the ceiling and if she tried and failed, the floor grinders would be a certainty.

"Think Blake, think!"

Suddenly, she remembered something that X had told her and her friends. She quickly cast her mind back to it.

" _Well personally, my dash boosters give me the burst of speed I need, but I don't see why your weapons wouldn't work too!"_ The memory of X said.

" _Sweet! Let me try it!"_ Another voice spoke, judging from the pitch it was Ruby.

That's when it hit her! Blake narrowed her gaze and prepared for the manoeuvrer. She loaded both her pistols with a fire dust clip. As she reached the top of the wall, she leapt off it and pointed both pistols at her feet. With a squeeze of the triggers, two explosive shots fired and hit the wall, causing a jet of flame to burst forth.

Blake felt the force of the blast pushing her forward. Turning around, she got ready to land on the other wall, the beam narrowly missing her as she passed over it. She slammed against the other wall and slid down before digging her blade in again.

With her other pistol still active, she fired on the red eye. It immediately shattered into tiny fragments and the socket it came from exploded into a smoking mess.

"Nailed it!" Blake cried out, fist pumping.

She then just managed to pull herself up in time as the blue eye slammed into the wall beneath her. As it recovered, all it took was one quick slash and the blue eye was split down the middle. The crystal parts quickly fading as the other socket exploded too.

That just left the sun buzz saw and Rangda Bangda was clearly aware of this. With almost lighting speed, the walls closed in again, almost shaking Blake loose from her position. The saw came out of the wall again and started to bounce around frantically.

Blake tried to get a decent swing on it, but each time she tried, her weapon was just blocked by the vicious serrated teeth of the saw. It pushed her weapon back and she pushed it back too, then the cycle would repeat. The only problem was, Blake was fairly certain that the robot had more stamina than she did, it would soon reach the point where she would grow tired and just get knocked off the wall.

She looked around, there had to be something that could beat this thing. Her eyes fell upon the pit full of grinders in the middle of the room, the ones that she had spent the whole fight avoiding, now they might prove to be her only means of victory. It was risky, but she had to try it.

As the sun/saw came in again, Blake leapt off the wall and slammed down on the saw with both blades. Again the sparks flew, causing Blake to avert her eyes as they danced across her face but she still pushed on. The two were now falling towards the centre of the room as Blake prepared for impact.

With one final shove against the saw, she forced it down to the ground and into the whirling doom of the grinders.

As soon as the blade hit the grinders, they both ground to a halt, the machinery groaning under the strain of being suddenly stopped. The grinders as it turned out proved to be stronger as the saw bent and buckled before being sheared into pieces and chewed up by the grinders.

The damage was done however as the small pieces of saw blade began to find their way into the grinder's internal systems. The grinders started to slow and smoke and fire poured out from the floor as well as the empty eye sockets. Small explosions erupted all over the room as Blake shielded herself from the small chunks of debris flying around.

She landed on the grinder blades just as they had come to a stop. The explosions continued until one final blast was followed by the sound of machinery powering down.

Blake had won. Rangda Bangda was defeated.

Blake drooped as she finally had a chance to rest. Since the grinder was destroyed, she found a flat spot of ground to sit down on and relax, letting out a sigh of relief and closing her eyes as she did so.

They quickly opened again as she heard the sound of concrete crumbling. Looking beneath her, she saw a few small cracks. The floor must have been weakened! Before she could get away, the floor gave way and she tumbled down into a dark room. Landing bottom first, she grumbled as a few small pieces of concrete fell around her.

"Blake?" she heard an all too familiar voice say.

"Adam!"

Sure enough, there at the other end of the room was the one she had been looking for. Much to her delight, Adam ran to meet her and the two embraced each other as they stood in the small ray of light from the hole above them.

Blake was practically in tears of joy. If this was any indication to go by, she was right about Adam this whole time! Why would he be holding her so lovingly otherwise.

"I knew it!" She sniffed in between her words. "I knew you wouldn't just turn on me! I came to get you out of here."

"Your friends agreed to this?" Adam asked.

"They have their reservations about you, but you... no... we can show them that deep down inside, your still a good person. That all this was just because of Vile and Neo. They were using you!"

Adam seemed speechless. "I... I didn't think anyone would believe me. How could they after what I've done."

"That wasn't you. That wasn't the one I fell in love with. That was Vile using you as a puppet to bring his plans to fruition and when it wasn't Vile it was Cinder. I've believed that for this whole time, because I know the kind hearted faunus who I fell in love with is still there, he always has been."

Adam laughed softly with a hand over his face. "Hehehehe."

Blake chuckled with him to before moving off. "Come on Adam, we have to get going before Vile figures out what I did to his little toy up there."

"Hahahahaha." Adam continued to laugh to himself as Blake ran up to him and tried to look in to his eyes.

"Adam? What's wrong? What is it?" She said, sounding concerned now.

"I just can't believe it." Adam said between laughs.

"Can't believe what?" Blake was puzzled.

At least she was until she felt volts of electricity coursing through her. The yellow bolts of energy swarmed over her body as she twitched and screamed in agony before she fell to the floor with severe burns and smoke rising off her. Struggling to look up, she saw Adam leaning over the top of her and heard the stomping of metallic feet approaching.

Adam took his hand off his mask and let his piercing gaze stare into Blake's soul.

"I just can't believe how naïve you really are, Blake Belladonna."

"Really? That was all it took? It wasn't even that good of a performance!"

There was only one person with a sense of humour like that and the voice was all too hauntingly familiar.

"Vile..." Blake managed to spit out before she collapsed back onto the floor.

"You wanna see a good performance? You gotta give 'em some show boating. The ol' razzle dazzle! Chuck her in the cage and I'll show you what I mean!" Vile instructed.

 _ **Patch Island – Resistance Base**_

"So we have no idea where she could've gone?" Ruby panicked.

"Only if you know where Vile and his friends went." Winter answered calmly. "Blake has a lot of people who would have information on them. She does still have links from her days in the White Fang after all. So it is entirely possible that she could be there already."

"Which is exactly why we need to be out there finding her!" X protested.

"Be reasonable X. There are only so many people we can send out to search for her at any one time and Remnants a big place. If I could send the whole base to look for her, I would but I must remind you we have refugees here. Given how powerful Neo Arcadia is, I cannot risk their safety by sending everyone out into the field."

Yang sighed and folded her arms. "So what are we supposed to do then?"

"We wait." Winter said matter of factly. "If we are lucky, one of the search parties will find Miss Belladonna. If we are unlucky-"

An alarm suddenly blared and the room was bathed in red lights.

 ***WARNING WARNING INCOMING TRANSMISSION FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE!***

"-they may find her first." Winter finished.

Dashing over to the console, X opened the communication lines, allowing whoever was contacting them to be patched through. Needless to say, no one was happy with who it was.

(Insert music: Maverick Hunter X OST – Vile Stage Select)

"Is... is this thing on?" Vile asked, tapping the camera. "Testing, testing, one two!"

"Well, there's an ugly sight if ever I saw one! What do you want Vile? Didn't you get your butt kicked hard enough last time around?" Yang taunted, punching a fist into her new robotic hand.

"OK, first of all, rude! Second, you may not be gloating for much longer when you see what I've found!"

Stepping aside from the camera, the teams were treated to a sight that they were all hoping they wouldn't see. Blake was lying unconscious in an energy cage, blocked off by yellow electricity bars. She was roughed up but she was still alive at least.

"See? I have a good side to me too! I found this stray kitty wandering around and decided to take it in! I'm just too kind sometimes." Vile mockingly said. "I'm guessing you want her back, don't you?"

Nora drew her hammer. "Let her go or I swear I'm gonna blow you up into atoms!"

"Well I'd be happy to give her back to you, on one condition." Vile's voice suddenly turned very serious as he went up close to the camera. "X can come and get her, alone. Anyone else comes with him and I blow her little brains out! Understand?"

Ruby almost laughed at how ridiculous his demand was. "You can't be seri-"

"Deal." X interrupted her, stepping to the front.

"Excellent!" Vile went back to his insanely happy voice. "I've sent my co-ordinates on the invitation. See you soon!"

The feed ended with the Maverick image stuck up on the screen until X switched off the monitor.

"Could there be a more obvious trap?" Ren asked rhetorically.

"It's not like we have much choice." X confessed with a sigh.

"Come on guys, let's get going!" Ruby readied her scythe when X grabbed her by the hood.

"No, you're staying here." He said sternly.

"Like hell I am! I'm not just going to let him-"

"I'm not taking that chance!" X shouted. "Vile is holding all the cards here, I'm not risking Blake's life or yours out there against him. Vile won't hurt her if I go alone."

"How can you be so sure?" Winter asked.

"Because I'm the one he's been looking to draw out. Vile has no bigger goal in mind. He won't kill Blake because right now, she is the only means of him getting to me."

X walked off towards the door to prepare himself for the mission. Before the door closed behind him, he took a look back at his friends forlorn expressions.

"I'll get her back. I promise."

 _ **Aw shit boy! Vile and X i match up! Who will win? Stay tuned to find out!**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	34. No Rest for the Good

_**Get excited cos it's gonna get awesome! X is on his way to Vile's base to rescue Blake and maybe defeat Vile once and for all? Will he succeed? Let us find out!**_

Blake stared into the barely lit, inky blackness of the room she was being held prisoner in. She had already tried breaking through the bars and ended up with another unwanted electrotherapy session for her troubles. Not that it would matter much anyway. Even if she was somehow able to break free from her cage, she was in no condition to fight anyone right now, much less Vile, Neo, Adam and whatever new toy Vile was working on.

Come to think of it, she really wasn't sure what it was at all. All she knew was that it was about three times Vile's size and probably packed enough firepower to level a small army! Right now he was humming a tune to himself as he worked on a panel of wires in the front of the machine.

Neo was pacing around Blake's cage, prodding her with her blade occasionally and seemingly mocking her in her own weird, mute little way. Blake didn't care about that though, all she could do was look at Adam and fill herself with regret.

How could she have been so foolish? To pin all her hopes on something so unbelievably unlikely as that? Adam being used as a puppet? Please, the only one who had been used was Blake and now she knew it. Deep down she always had. The look that Adam gave her the night Beacon fell, the ruthlessness with which her cut down Yang, it all made sense and yet, she had chosen to ignore it.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Blake insulted herself as she smacked a fist against the floor of her cage.

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity you know!" Vile called back, not even looking away from his work.

"I suppose you would be all to familiar with that?" Blake scorned back.

"Babe, you don't know the half of it! I spent years working my way up through the ranks of the Hunters and then he showed up. Some useless, B class nobody who happens to be the first reploid ever made. It drove me nuts, seeing how everyone praised him and respected him even though he was weakling and a coward."

"It's that cowardice and understanding of humanity that places him above the likes of you, Vile."

"Ha ha! Not for much longer. Not when he gets a load of this beauty!"

Vile activated his creation. The sound of metallic feet stomping down and the limbs rising up filled the room. Snaps followed as the weapon pulled itself free of the power cables and bindings that held it in place. Blake was still unable to see it, but she could see two large headlights being activated as Vile climbed into the top of the weapon.

"I may talk a lot of shit about you humans and your pathetic emotions but I have to thank you for them on this occasion. Your compassion and love for Adam brought you out of hiding, and now it's going to bring X right to us and to his doom! GAHAHAHA!"

Blake's eyes went wide in horror as she saw the behemoth being activated. She then heard Vile's communicator being activated and the voice of a very worried sounding White Fang member.

"Um... sir? A- a Huntsman is approaching... very quickly... um...he-he seems to be very annoyed and- WAH!"

The line went dead as Vile started to send his forces to red alert status. "Right on time. Neo, Adam, get ready. X may not be able to beat us but that doesn't make him a pushover. Rough him up as much as you want, just save the killing blow for me!"

(Insert music: Kurogane THIRD, T21: Rockman X2 Counter Hunter Stage 1)

Zooming past the White Fang Maverick he had just unceremoniously knocked aside, X continued on his charge towards Vile's base entrance. It was massively helped by the fact that X had been allowed to borrow one of Yang's motorbikes! (She had a few spare.) Right now he was barrelling straight down the middle of the base's hastily erected perimeter defences. Any enemy that got in his way either dived straight back out of the way, or was simply bashed aside. X was not in the mood for games at present!

Seeing the entrance to the base draw near, X realised that the front gate was blocked off by a large platoon of Armour Soldiers and Gun Volts. They formed a physical barrier between the Maverick hunter and his goal. X thought, he could turn around now and try to pepper them but that would take ages and leave him vulnerable. Then a spark of an idea hit him!

"Sorry about this Yang, I'll pay for a new bike when I get back." He said to himself before revving the engine and charging towards the barricade.

He showed no sign of stopping as he drew near, not that the enemies had any intention of moving either. At the last possible moment, he slammed the accelerator and leapt off the bike. His ride zoomed off into the robotic crowd and exploded in a spectacular fashion, blasting a hole right through the enemies defensive line as well as the main gate.

X wasted no time as he dashed inside and was immediately met with several White Fang Mavericks pointing their weapons at him. A small spark shone in his eyes as he saw the new foes he was up against.

"Looks like Vile has been upgrading your arsenal. I've brought a few new weapons of my own!"

The White Fang fired everything they had at X. Rocket launchers, machine guns, pistols, you name it. A huge cloud of debris engulfed X and a final rocket to the centre of the cloud was followed by a massive explosion. The White Fang members congratulated each other on a job well done.

Until they saw X still standing in the middle of it all, unscathed!

His colour palette was now primarily white with gold trim around the edges. His buster cannon had changed to a holographic shield that appeared in front of him. It pulsated with an almost holy light and all the bullets that had been fired at X were lying in front of the shield, uselessly.

"Cinder already made the mistake of underestimating my friends, I hope you don't do the same!"

He quickly switched his weapon to Pyrrha's and raised his buster. The White fang members shuffled about uncomfortably, looking like they were ready to turn tail (literally in some cases) and run.

Instead, X held his buster aloft and as he fired it, he called out the attack.

"Polarity Storm!"

All of the weapons the White Fang were holding suddenly flew from their grasp and gathered around X's buster in a giant metallic mess. He then fired it again and the projectile exploded outwards, scattering the weapons everywhere. Most missed but those that did go back towards the White Fang members were travelling with enough momentum to knock them out cold!

Dashing past the groaning, barely conscious forces he had just defeated, X began to make his way deeper into the base. He was a reploid on a mission, and he would not be stopped.

 _ **Neo Arcadia – Throne Room**_

"It's gotten awfully quiet since we sent Double on his way." Sigma said openly those present.

Gate didn't even look up from his typing to address him. "The Schnee Dust Company is heavily fortified, if we want to get rid of that snooty little brat, we need someone who is capable of decimating their forces. Besides, I'm enjoying the peace and quiet that his absence has given us."

"You're a scientist, Gate. You could be the only thing on this planet and you would still be satisfied with your own splendid isolation. Myself on the other hand, well... Double may be a hyperactive loudmouth but this is just too quiet for the likes of me."

"You'll get your chance." Lumine replied. "We just have to see to it that we have a suitable plan before we start eliminating the others. Miss Schnee was kind enough to leave the base and make it all the easier for us. To get to the others though, we will need a co-ordinated strike. When we do though, you'll be able to destroy them all, including that high as a kite, silver eyed, midget."

Silence persisted for a time, the only breaks in it being the clacking of keys as Gate continued his research. Sigma rested a hand on his chin and sat in contemplation. He did so for several minutes, before his mouth turned into a devilish grin.

"Hold on. You mentioned something about silver eyes?"

"Yes. Ruby Rose happens to have silver eyes. She is also small and incredibly annoying. Forgive me but I fail to see what relevance this has to our current situation."

Everyone was waiting for Sigma to explain. Xandria had taken a particular interest in what Sigma was planning and she waited eagerly for him to expand on his thoughts.

"While the likes of Gate looks into the scientific nature of our enemy, I have chosen to study a rather different field. The legends of these humans."

Gate gave a small 'pfft' and wend back to his work.

"Some may dismiss such stories as that is all they seem to be, stories. However, they can reveal a great deal of information about how your enemy thinks and how they will react. Not to mention that some of them hold truth in them."

Gate seemed a little interested now.

"Legends tell of these silver eyed warriors. They are the best of the best that humanity has to offer. We were all taken by surprise when we saw the abilities these humans had, able to take down hoards of Grimm with ease. The silver eyed warriors, are said to be able to defeat Grimm and other threats by simply looking at them."

"What are you proposing?" Xandria asked.

"There can be no doubt that there is evidence to support this. Not just in the tales of old, but in the form of an enemy we face right now."

"You refer to Miss Rose." Lumine determined.

Sigma nodded. "She has demonstrated abilities equal to that of older warriors despite the fact she is only fifteen, a mere child as it were. She was able to stand against the likes of Vile and she performed amiably in the Vytal Tournament. What I want to do, is test her myself, see if she is worthy of being brought in to our ranks.

"A decent plan, Sigma. How do you plan on keeping her friends at bay though?" Gate asked.

"I'm glad you asked me that. I happened to acquire two helping hands during the battle of Beacon Academy and have taken the liberty of upgrading them personally. I believe they will be more than enough to buy me time to test Miss Rose."

"You have my permission, Sigma. Go and carry out your little experiment."

"Thank you mistress Xandria."

Sigma bowed before he went to prepare himself to begin the testing process.

 _ **Patch Island – Signal City**_

 ***BURP** *

"Ruby! That's disgusting."

"Tee hee, sorry Ren."

Ren shook his head with a small smile gracing his lips as he went back to relaxing and Ruby went back to her milkshake.

It was a beautiful day in Signal City. The air was warm with a cooling yet gentle breeze and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Since the remainders of team RWBY and JNPR were not able to help X on their mission, Jaune decided it would be a good idea to try and get some downtime. It was an attempt to take their minds off the situation at hand, something not easily forgotten, but the effort was appreciated.

Ren seemed to be most in favour of the plan. He was a mellow person by default and would never say no to some peace and quiet. Something he rarely got with Nora around.

"You know, in some cultures, burping is a sign of appreciation for a meal!" Jaune imparted his random knowledge on his friends.

"Oh!" Nora grinned. "In that case..."

She cracked her fingers before taking a deep breath, followed by a gigantic.

 ***BUUUUUUUUUURRRRRP!** *

Ren and Jaune leaned back in equal parts disgust and surprise. Pyrrha was more impressed than anything else, how could such a noise come from such a petite girl? Ruby promptly fell off her chair in fits of laughter while Yang was slamming the table repeatedly, so hard in fact that she dented it!

"Nora?" Ren began. "Please, no more noises like that. Alright?" Nora simply pulled a face as a response, earning a noogie from Ren for her efforts.

As the group went about their mischief, Jaune cast his gaze over to Pyrrha and was given immediate reason to worry. She was staring blankly into the distance... again. She'd been doing that a lot recently, just a random times she would lose all focus, as if someone just hit an off switch in her head.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune tried to get her attention.

"Pyrrha?" He snapped his fingers a few times.

Yang now noticed this and decided to get through to Pyrrha the only way she knew how: embarrassment.

"PYRRHA! YOUR BOYFRIEND IS TALKING TO YOU!"

Straight away, she snapped back to reality with red cheeks upon her face. She looked straight to Jaune who also went bright red before both looked away and laughed nervously.

"Knew that would work." Yang boasted. "Seriously Pyrrha, where do you go to when your mind wanders like that?"

"Narnia." Pyrrha joked, bringing the laughter back to the table before Jaune went into slightly serious mode, placing his hand on top of hers.

"You've been doing that a lot recently. Are you sure everything is all right?".

"I'm fine Jaune. I don't even really know why I keep on doing it. My guess is that with so much going on right now, I just kind off need to get away from it all."

Jaune wasn't entirely sure he believedh er but it was clear the conversation was not one that Pyrrha wanted to hear. Reluctantly, he backed down.

"She has a point." Yang backed her up. "With Neo Arcadia, the White Fang and Vile all running around, things are pretty intense right now."

"Well that is exactly why we're here." Jaune placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. "We're here to get away from it all. Nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure about that?"

Jaune's eyes shot back open and he gulped upon hearing the voice. The teams all rose from their seats and faced the source of the sound.

"Sigma!" Ruby called out as they all drew their weapons. The civilians around the area had already scattered, anticipating an incoming brawl.

"I'm glad to see you are all doing well. It's actually very impressive considering the beating you took at Beacon Academy."

That remark touched a nerve with all who were present.

"Come back for some more, have you? You should know we've gotten a lot more skilled since the last time we met!" Yang replied.

"As much as I would enjoy the challenge of fighting all of you, I've only come for her."

Sigma pointed a finger at Ruby. She held her weapon up defensively. Even the act of pointing made it feel like Sigma was going for her very soul. Nora stood protectively in front of Ruby.

"What if she doesn't want to go with you?"

"I never said anything about taking her. That will be for our battle to decide. It is time for your test, Miss Rose. Let us see if the legend of the Silver Eyes holds any truth in it!"

The group readied themselves to fight and Sigma seemed offended. "Well these odds are hardly an accurate representation of Miss Rose's abilities. Not to worry though, I have something else for the rest of you to play with."

Sigma snapped his fingers and two figures teleported in either side of him. Two that were instantly recognised by the teams present.

(Insert music: ZX Gigamix – The Chosen One)

"Mercury and Emerald?" Ruby scarcely believed it.

Mercury wore much of the same attire as he had before. The main difference was that his trousers were replaced with a pair of robotic legs that were similar in design to X's. They had tow upward turned spikes on the outside of each leg as well as a ring of spikes around where the top of his feet were.

Emerald also dressed similarly but instead of her cut top, she now wore a full body warmer like garment so her belly was not visible but her arms still were and they were massively different. Her arms were mechanical and skeletal like. Around the wrists of each arm were several chambers of dust, wired into the palms of her hands, upon which was a crystal each. Her body warmer also seemed to be covering some mechanical parts and a tube was connected from her chest, poking through the garment and connecting to an opaque mask that covered her mouth and nose.

The other area of note was their eyes and expressions. They looked almost... dead. There was no shine or sparkle in their gaze. They didn't seem to be enjoying what they were doing.

"Mercury, you can have Ren and Nora. Emerald, you take Jaune and Pyrrha. Make sure you keep them entertained, I shouldn't be long."

" _Yes master Sigma."_ They replied in unison in monotonic voices before they daashed away in different directions.

"Ruby, we can't just-"

"Go, Jaune! If you don't chase them down then innocent people are going to be hurt!"

"What about you and Yang?"

"We'll be fine! We can handle this!"

Unsure if he believed Ruby's words, Jaune sprinted off after Emerald with Pyrrha following suit while Ren and Nora went the opposite way after Mercury. That just left Ruby and Yang to deal with Sigma.

"Excellent, we have some suitable conditions at last."

Sigma readied his Sigma blade and entered his battle stance.

"Your test begins now."

 _ **No rest for our heroes! With X out of the way, can Ruby survive against Sigma? What of Weiss? Can she and her friend get out before Double arrives to assassinate her? Will Emrald and Mercury bring the others to their knees? And can X rescue Blake.**_

 _ **Stay tuned in to find out!**_

 _ **Until next time.**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	35. Another Chance

_**Much to do! Let's keep right on going!**_

 _ **Gravenimage: Shit has hit the fan so hard it's dyed brown!**_

 _ **Grimlock987: Possibly. If I do disappoint, there is always a possible sequel for ideas like that!**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: CLIFFHANGARS FOR ALL! MUAHAHAHAHA!**_

 _ **But I digress.**_

The sound of his own metallic feet clanking on the floor was the only sound that accompanied X on his trek through the dimly lit hall. He could barely see with his normal vision mode, the only light source was some dull purple circles in the centre of some eyes scattered along the walls. It made for a rather creepy scene.

Vile was always one for dramatics.

It didn't bother X much. Firstly he had his own night vision to aid along with his already perfect eyesight and secondly, he really didn't give two tosses what sort of mood the rooms had. X would not have originally been this way, a long time ago he may have been cautious, unnerved, scared even! Right now though, he was just focused on his one objective: Rescuing his friend, Blake.

He came to a large set of doors that opened up a soon as he stood in front of them. Whoever was on the other side clearly wanted X to enter. With caution, he entered the room.

It was a workshop of sorts, with large work areas littered with mechanical parts. Small pools of oil covered the floor and the walls had burn marks and bullet holes dotted all along them. Someone had been busy in here.

X's audio receptors suddenly picked up a sound, a rather odd one at that. Someone playing a piano. It was playing softly in the background which made this place seem all the more off putting. Wanting to find it's source, X leapt up onto a catwalk overlooking the workshop and dashed along it.

He arrived at the room where the musicwas coming from. Rounding the corner with buster ready, he didn't quite know what to make of the sight before him. Neo as it turned out, had a talent for music and was playing the tune beautifully. Upon seeing X, Vile sang a brief tune.

"Weeeee'll meet again! Don't know where, don't know wheeeeen! But I know we'll meet again some sunny daaaaay!"

Not the sort of sight you would expect to see from the villains who were holding someone you knew as a hostage. Then again, Vile and Neo weren't exactly normal villains. Neo stopped playing and Vile walked over to X, his arms open.

"Ah, there he is! The guest of honour! Neo, play us a little tune would you?"

Neo started to play some soft background music again, the sort heard at social do's or a garden party as Vile went over to a nearby table and began pouring drinks.

"Bourbon?" Vile offered X a glass of the beverage, X just looked at him in confusion.

"Meh, your loss." Vile then took his glass and downed it in one go. Even though he wore a helmet, he held it at just the right way that the liquid went underneath his visor. Although reploids could not drink per say, they could ingest certain liquids as fuel, alcohol being one of them.

"I guess you're just here to talk business, right?"

"You know what I'm here for Vile, where is my friend? Where is Blake?"

Although X was not in the mood for distractions such as this little meeting, Vile was a dangerous enemy and he would play along just to be safe.

"Cool your servos will ya? She's in the main room further down the hall. Adam Is guarding her as a matter of fact. Rude, right? You would think he would at least want to meet you but he is just obsessed with that cat."

"Struggling to control your followers, eh Vile?" X almost seemed to enjoy mocking Vile.

In his anger, hidden for the most part, Vile smashed the glass of bourbon he would have given to X. The contents splashed on his arm and small chinks of glass fell upon the floor.

"Oops. How did that happen?" Vile asked rhetorically. "Unfortunately, I can't hand her over any more."

"What?" X asked, angered by this news. "We had a deal!"

"I know we did! But Adam's unwillingness to co-operate has soured our deal slightly I'm afraid. Not to worry though, you can still hold up your end of the bargain."

Neo stood up from the piano just before Vile grabbed it with one arm and threw it into the air. He them kicked it straight at X who had no time to dodge. The piano and X smashed against the wall with the keys making an awful din as they shattered. X pulled himself up from the debris and aimed at the two villains.

"Neo, keep our guest entertained will you? I'm going to get our special event ready."

As Vile sprinted off to get himself ready, Neo drew her blade from her umbrella and blew a kiss at X before she got to work.

(Insert music: Kill la Kill OST - Nui Harime Theme V2)

Neo leapt forward and flipped in the air as she did so, stabbing the ground where X was as she landed. Luckily, X dodged out of the way just in time. She followed up with a slash to X's face, which the Hunter ducked just in time before she launched a kick to his chest. Strength was not Neo's strong point however and she did little to no damage with it. A sweeping kick then followed but X moved his leg forward to stop it short of her target. He then counter attacked with a kick of his own, striking Neo directly on the chin.

She leant back, stunned before X threw a punch to her gut. Before he landed the punch however, he fired a buster shot just before it made contact, effectively making his punch stronger.

Another kick to Neo's chest was blocked by her blade but X moved in a fluid motion to sweep her off her feet and then spin 360 degrees to strike her in the face with his foot again. A final round house kick sent Neo spinning in the air, seemingly out of action.

She landed expertly though and tried to do the same move to X, using a low sweeping foot to try and knock him off balance. He would not fall prey to his own moves so easily however and he leapt above her attempt as the two backed away from each other for a split second of respite.

Neo then tried to thrust at X's head but a last second tilt made the blade go past his neck. The attempt left Neo open and she was rewarded for her efforts with a punch to her chest. She then tried some overhead slashes, comboing them together into smooth and fluid movements, almost like a dancer.

X backed away and let each strike pass in front of him. He then pulled his arms back and switched both of his hands into buster cannons. He then started to pummel Neo's stomach with successive one two combos, firing a shot each time to increase their potency. He then grabbed Neo by her waist and threw the girl upwards before launching one more kick as she fell down to his level. She was flung away and smashed into the railings.

As soon as she made contact however, her body shattered like ice. Small shards of pink, brown and white glass littered the area before X heard the sound of slow clapping behind him. Turning quickly, X saw Neo was still there, sat on a weapons crate, mockingly congratulating him.

She flicked a small card out of her sleeve and threw it at X. He caught it and read the writing upon it.

 _Impressive, Maverick Hunter. I'm just getting warmed up though, why not show me what you can really do? Come on, we only have a little longer until the main event!_

X crumpled up the card and tossed it aside as Neo got up from the crate and curtsied. X stared at her for a moment before he punched a hand into his fist, signalling he was ready for round 2.

Neo's strike was much quicker this time as X raised his arm to block a stab right to his temple before ducking an overhead kick from the mute. He landed a quick dig at her gut again before she gave him an uppercut with the sheath of her blade, followed by a jump kick with both feet that sent X skidding backwards.

She sprinted to attack X again a managed to land a small hit on X's right side that caused him to stumble. This gave her the perfect opportunity to stab down on his left shoulder. The blade did break through a little but only through X's shoulder guard, not reaching so far as his joint.

Another buster punch to Neo's chest knocked her off balance slightly but she countered with a slash at X's face. Though it missed, she found another opening and kicked him in his breastplate, making him stagger.

Neo tried to keep momentum but X had got her attack timing down to a fine art and hit her cheek with a left hook just as she reached him again. He also landed a right hook but Neo kicked him back off her. As he recovered, X managed to land two quick buster shots on Neo but their energy was absorbed by her quickly drawing her umbrella.

She retracted it just as quickly and tried to cross her blade and sheath over X's throat. He was ready though and as she moved in close, he grabbed her wrists and pushed her weapons safely away from himself. Kneeing her in the gut, he then threw Neo up again, spinning her as he did so to make her lose focus before smashing her head against his own. Neo fell in a daze on the floor as X aimed his buster to finish her off.

He fired a few rapid rounds but Neo was up almost immediately, moving like a breakdancer to dodge the fire as she got to her feet. She kicked herself up and spun on her elbow briefly, using the momentum gained to throw herself up again. She then cartwheeled past some of the buster shots, leading into a front flip and slashing at X again.

X dodge rolled out of the way and was some distance from Neo. The girl was nimble but weak. Time to end this.

As he got up from his roll, X activated his dash boosters and fired them straight in Neo's direction with his shoulder forward. He rocketed towards her, leaving the femme fatale with no chance of dodging. He charged straight into her and carried Neo off her feet before zooming towards the wall.

She was effectively like an airbag for X, taking the brunt of the impact and leaving X with little damage. The wall cracked under the force (impressive since it was military grade thickness) and Neo collapsed unconscious. Her blade clattered on the metallic floor and slid out of her grasp.

One down, two to go, and X wasn't going to hang around and wait for the next fight to be set up against him. Dashing at full speed, he set off in the direction Vile had gone.

 _ **Vile's Base – Storage Area**_

"What? No no no no NO!"

Vile clapsed his hands to his head as he stared in disbelief. The weapon he had been working on, his plan to defeat X, it was gone! All that remained were the dangling chains he had used to hold it in place.

But who? Who could have taken it? The base was a secret and the only ones allowed in these restricted areas were himself, Neo and...

"ADAM!" Vile realised and he shouted his name as though it were a curse upon the bull faunus himself.

"You treacherous, double crossing BASTARD!"

A table full of spare parts was flung through the air as Vile panted in rage. It was only then that the purple reploid noticed X had entered the room and was pointing his buster cannon at him without saying a word.

"It doesn't matter. I don't need the weapon! I don't need anything! I'll defeat you myself, right here, right now! You hear me X? YOU ARE DEAD!"

(Insert music: Maverick Hunter X – Sigma 1st Form)

Vile propelled himself forward with his jet boosters and swung at X once he was in close range. Vile's swings were far more powerful than Neo's, as evidenced by a steel beam being sheared in two just by the force of Vile's punch. They did however, lack Neo's accuracy.

Vile was enraged right now. He wasn't thinking about strategy or skill, he was just using his immense power to try and bring X down. He screamed and shouted with every attempt he made, only to have X dodge it with ease and back away again.

X aimed and fired a single, precise buster shot at Vile, hitting him on his shoulder joint and forcing him to one knee as he held it in pain.

"Enough, Vile! You can't beat me!" X said.

"I... DON'T... CAAAAAARE!"

Vile fired a barrage of missiles at X, letting them fly in random directions. Most of them missed and instead brought large amounts of rubble down across the room. The few that did reach X were easily avoided.

"For thousands of years, I've made it my sole mission to defeat you. You've always been known as the key to the future, the greatest reploid who ever lived. Well you're not!"

Vile now held his arm up and retracted the tops of his fingers, they then closed in and began to rotate quickly before firing a slew of machine gun bullets which pinged off X's armour and the terrain as they whizzed around the room.

"You're just an outdated, rusty, B Class Hunter! NOTHING MORE!"

Lowering his shoulder cannon, Vile charged up a rail gun shot and fired. A brilliant beam of blue energy covered the room. X ducked just in time as the shot hit the wall above his head and carried on through another four rooms at least!

X had had enough, it was time to end this!

Vile was uncoordinated and rabid, it would be much easier to get around his offensive weaponry and land a decisive strike. X pinpointed his target, Vile's visor. Thin material protection, a buster shot would pass through it and damage his main processors with ease.

With his plan in mind, X dashed forward. As anticipated, Vile retaliated with more heavy cannon fire. A shot landed near X's right side which he stepped around before sliding underneath a rail cannon blast. Vile then opened a compartment on his leg and released a small bundle of grenades across the floor in front of himself.

 ***KABOOM** *

The smoke and dust filled the room and Vile was certain he had at least damaged X to some degree.

It was not to be however as X leapt through the smoke and pointed his buster at Vile's face. The maverick had no time to react as X fired a single yellow shot and hit his target.

Vile clasped his helmet as small arcs of electricity shot off it. He fell to his knees and punched the ground repeatedly as he tried to muscle through the agony of his circuits being fried. As the pain started to subside, Vile checked his internal systems.

 _ **Weapons systems: Compromised**_

 _ **Mobility: Jetpack and Transerver module impaired**_

 _ **Emergency power has been rerouted to basic mobility and life support systems**_

There was nothing he could do. Vile looked up and saw X pointing his buster straight at him like an executioner.

"Go on then." Vile said weakly. "Finish me off."

X did nothing.

"You have me on the ropes, just pull the trigger. You could kill me, end all of the suffering I would cause."

"You're right, I could."

Vile seemed surprised, tilting his head slightly as if X was insane for not taking the shot. To be honest, most people would think he was.

"When we first started fighting, all those years ago, we found there was something wrong with your personality matrix, something irreparable. I only fought and destroyed you because I knew there was no other option. This time though, there is."

X continued. "Technology has come a long way in Neo Arcadia. Half of it I invented myself. We understand so much more about ourselves that your irreparable malfunction is just a common issue now. I could fix you, bring you back to the reploid who fought alongside his friends once again."

X held out his hand to Vile.

"We don't have to kill each other. We don't have to keep on fighting. A friendly rivalry, sure but not this."

Vile just looked on in silence for a bit before he replied.

"How can you do this? I killed so many innocent people and reploids, some of which were your friends. Even after all that I've done, you want to help me? Hahaha! You're even more insane than I am!"

X chuckled a bit. "Guess Blake's ideas rubbed off on me! Maybe you're right. Maybe this whole notion is pointless. Thing is, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least try to set things right between us."

Vile looked back to X's hand and slowly raised his own, opened so it looked like he may take it. Instead, he pushed X's hand down and stood up slowly.

"No... I'm sorry but... no. If I went with you, got myself fixed up, I wouldn't be me any more. The life I've led, trying to destroy you, it may not be a noble life or even a worthwhile one but it's mine. This is who I am X, no matter how much we both hate it."

Vile slowly hobbled past X who stood aside and watched him go with a forlorn look on his face. As Vile went to the door, he stopped and spoke to X once more.

"What did you do to Neo?"

"Just knocked her out. She didn't give me much choice with the fight she put up."

"Heh. Yeah, she's something else."

"Why Vile, was that the sound of you caring about someone else I heard?" X asked in a sarcastic tone. The question was genuine though.

"Hahahaha! Guess this world is changing both of us. My guess is you'll find Adam in Blake's holding area, two floors up from this one. Do me a favour and kick him in the nuts for me, would ya?"

He hobbled off again, heading for the room where Neo was to get her out of there. He still had use for her after all, yet part of him told him that he had to. It was a feeling he had not felt in a long time.

"Vile!" X called. "That offer is still open, if you do change your mind."

"Hopeful as always, eh X?"

"Someone has to be." X replied before running off to where Blake and Adam were.

Vile watched him disappear around the corner before sighing to himself and shuffling off again with a whole lot of thoughts going through his head.

 _ **Vile's Base – Control Room**_

X entered the pitch black room. The very same one that Vile had transmitted to the base from. He looked around frantically and, sure enough, his eyes fell upon one of the few lit areas of the room. A cage was present and within it sat Blake, lost in her own forlorn thoughts and not aware that X had entered.

He dashed up to the cage as quietly as possible, hopeful that Adam was away for a while longer.

"Psst... Blake." He whispered.

Blake's ears pricked up beneath her bow as she turned around with shock.

"X! What are you doing?"

"Getting you out of here, what does it look like?"

"It's all a set up! They wanted you to come here! Forget about me and get out while you still ca- OW!"

X had taken the moment that Blake was rambling on to inject something into her with a syringe he had stored in his armour.

"It's Sub-Tank formula, should heal you up pretty quickly." X explained as he tried to deactivate the electric barriers that held Blake prisoner.

"X, it's not worth it, just get out of here!"

"Not without you! I promised your friends I'd bring you back and that is just what I'm going to do."

A clacking of footsteps came from the darkness and made X cease his attempts to free Blake as piercing red lights shone from the inky black. Adam Taurus also stepped forth with Wilt already drawn and held by his side, scraping along the floor which resulted in sparks and a horrible screeching sound as he approached.

"Hands off my prey, Hunter."

X drew his buster and paced in front of Blake's cage protectively.

"Touching." Adam continued. "You knew this was all a trap, you knew we just wanted you to come here so we could kill you and yet you came anyway. I don't know if that's brave or just stupid."

"I came here to save my friend, not exactly sure what's so stupid about that."

"What's stupid is your naïve nature, X. Didn't you find out already? She's a traitor!"

Blake flinched at those words.

"First she betrayed her brethren in the White Fang, now she has betrayed you and your friends. She abandoned you and let her own selfish wants take precedence over the Hunter's goals."

X had heard this all before and he knew his answer.

"You think I care? You honestly think any of her friends care about that? Unlike you, Adam Taurus, Blake had good intentions at least. She betrayed the White Fang after seeing how corrupt and brutal your ways were. She left us because she thought you still had some hope of redemption!"

"Really?" Adam laughed. "Even after all this miserable creature has done to us, you're just going to risk everything to try and save her. Why?"

X held a hand over his chest. "She's my friend. She may have made mistakes, who hasn't? But she has also saved lives, brought comfort to those who had none and made the world a better place as a Huntress. I am not going to let you take her from those who care about her."

"Are you telling me your 'friend' is worth dying for?" Adam mockingly asked.

Blake looked up at X from her prison, expecting him to back down and refuse. After all, even if he could forgive her, she surely wasn't worth as much as a legendary reploid like him.

"Of course she is."

Blake gasped. She was so certain that she would be given up on, it was no less than she deserved in her mind. Yet here was X, whom she had only met recently, saying he would give up his own life for hers. That was something she had never heard from Adam, and it was how she knew X was telling the truth when he said it.

"Well, if she is worth dying for..."

Adam spun his sword and held it in both hands, ready to strike at X and gave a wicked smile..

"... then do so!"

 _ **I may get mixed opinion on how I handled Vile in this part. I do have a plan for him and this encounter is an essential part of it.**_

 _ **Anyway, the next part is X vs Adam. Hope you're hyped for it!**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	36. The Rescue

_**ROLL UP ROLL UP! THE FIGHT YOU'VE BEEN AWAITING HAS ARRIVED! X VS. ADAM TAURUS!**_

 _ **But first, reviews!**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: Never thought a Michael Bay film would have such a profound line in it. It's usually just BOOM! BOOM! KAPOW!**_

 _ **Pea Brain Writer: I seriously love your reviews mate, they give me a good basis to make improvements on in future! There is an explanation planned for later on, this isn't the last time the plot point will be brought up and it may linger for a little bit.**_

 _ **MrtheratedG: I kinda felt like I had to put it in. If you think about, even the games give us no explanation for it. He is bad in Megaman X because of the irreparable logic circuit but then he gets killed. Surely if he is brought back, he would have a new chip but the same personality core. Or maybe I'm just overthinking it!**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Not sure what you mean by Blake route TBH.**_

 _ **MetalSonic 30: I did take inspiration from that scene, yes. X is the kind of guy who sticks up for his friends and I always picture Mark Gatha's voice when I go through X's lines in my head.**_

 _ **On we go!**_

(Insert music: Devil May Cry 3 – Show No Tears)

Adam held Wilt and Blush across his chest and slashed them into the ready position. Despite being enemies, Adam was honourable in combat and awaited X to get ready. In response, X activated his sabre and buster cannon, readying both for battle.

The two rushed at each other, Adam using his natural speed and X activating his dash boots. They both leapt into the air and dashed across each other with a slash of their blades. They both made contact and a clash of metal was heard before the two landed on opposing sides from where they had started, their backs to each other.

Adam was the speedier of the two and quickly turned and sprinted again. By the time X had done the same, Adam was upon him with another powerful strike. X managed to block the attack just in time, the force of it making him skid back a few feet. He dashed back in and the two traded a series of sword clashes. They were fast and simple, neither wishing to expend their energy so early into the fight.

X made a powerful thrust with his sabre but Adam ducked and crossed Wilt over it, locking the sabre in place above his head. With no defence, a shot with Blush was an easy opportunity. The rifle blast knocked X backwards and Adam followed up by front flipping through the air repeatedly with his blade geld above him (Think of it like Sonic curling into a ball as he jumps but with a huge blade sticking out of it!)

X mirrored the action to protect himself and the two landed with neither one gaining an advantage from the impressive moves.

Seeing how well it worked against Neo, X tried a powerful kick to Adam's face but it was slow and blocked by Adam with no trouble. Forcing X off balance, Adam tried to tear into him with Wilt being swung wildly, yet not without method.

It was fruitless however as X saw a small opening in Adam's guard as they fought. An elbow to the stomach elected a grunt from Adam and gave X some space and a brief moments respite before they locked blades again.

"I see you've been improving your combat techniques, X. You move a lot faster and still hit just as hard." Adam congratulated.

"A compliment from you, Adam Taurus? Never thought I'd hear the like! No that it means much from a bloodthirsty slime like you!" X replied.

Adam simply smirked before whipping Blush out of nowhere and firing a shot right at X's face. The Hunter blocked the bulk of the shot but it practically sent him to the other side of the room in the process! Not to mention an unwelcome warning appearing.

 _ **ALERT! Visual damage detected, beginning repair sequence. Estimated time to completion: 30 seconds.**_

X cursed his luck. Thirty seconds may not be a long time to you or I but with Adam's relentless assault, it felt like an eternity. X needed cover, but where?

He snapped his fingers as he got an idea. Flicking through his weapon selection, he found the name he was looking for.

 _ **JAUNE ARC**_

His palette changed to a pristine white with golden highlights. Placing his arms across his chest, X activated a glowing white barrier around himself and began the repair sequence.

Adam dived towards X and landed a solid hit, the crunch of the impact sound making him grin with delight. He soon lost that look though when it became apparent that his strike had done nothing. The shield was still up and he could see X's eye being repaired before his own eyes!

Desperate to try and stop him, Adam ran up to X until he was right beside him. He held Wilt above his head and focused.

"1000 Bandit Slash!" He called out.

His sword and hand became a blur, the red and black colour scheme jumping all over the place as lightning fast slashes hit X's shield in rapid succession. A few white scratch marks were left on the spherical protection but the attack did not break it. Frustrated, Adam pulled his blade back for one last powerful thrust.

 _ **Repairs: Completed.**_

With his newly fixed eye sparkling for a split second, X deactivated the barrier and switched back to his buster cannon. Just before Wilt hit him, X leapt over the top of Adam and slammed him into the dirt with a stomp of his robotic feet on Adam's back. He then drew his sabre and began slashing at Adam while he had the chance.

Normally a single Z-Sabre hit would cleave an opponent clean in two but the Aura levels of the Faunus were ridiculously high, enabling him to endure the pummelling. X kicked Adam skyward before leaping up after him and slashing down with the sabre, sending Adam impacting into the ground below.

He landed some distance away and recovered before placing Wilt in front of himself and focusing once again. Adam's body began to glow red and X knew this could only be a bad thing. He dashed towards Adam as quickly as he could to try and prevent this action.

As X got in range however, Adam slashed his blade outwards and a great wall of wind flung him away. The storm had such a force that it tore up the tiles on the floor beneath him, leaving a trail of destruction in the path where X had flown along.

X flicked through his weapons system again and found Lie Ren among them. He activated it and switched to the green and pule colouration that was characteristic of his friend. X's buster changed into a small machine pistol and his other arm mimicked the action. Without hesitation, he opened fire at Adam.

The speed of the Bull faunus was impressive as he danced his way around the bullets, several impact holes along the ground and walls indicating just how much ammo X had unloaded into him.

Charging up one of the pistols, X fired a three way spread shot of larger projectiles. Each had a glowing green trail of energy and the flew in formation towards Adam. The faunus dashed forward and disappeared from X's view briefly before reappearing beyond the projectiles. Straight after, the three shots were split cleanly down the middle and all fell to the ground uselessly.

Adam tried an aerial strike once he was within touching distance of X. He was swiftly denied this however as X switched back to his buster cannon and fired a shot the knocked Adam out of his aerial poise. Flailing around as he lost control, X jumped up to meet him and readied charge shot.

"Eat this!" X cried as he fired the energy projectile at Adam and sent him flying across the room.

Blake gasped and shielded herself as Adam smashed into her energy cage, destroying it in the process. She was flung to the floor but other than that she was unharmed, the Sub Tank formula had worked wonders on her and she was practically up to full strength again.

Opening her eyes as she lay on the floor, she found herself looking up at the welcoming sight of X, extending his hand out to her. Taking it, she let herself be pulled to her feet as X gave her that genuine smile that he often wore.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Thanks to you." Blake answered. "I... I didn't mean for all of this to happen. I was just trying to-"

X placed a finger over her lips to silence her.

"We can talk about this later. Now on the other hand seems like a good time to leave."

X and Blake made a break for the exit, until a bullet whizzed between their heads and hot the main door controls. A heavy duty steel door dropped down and locked them in. Looking back, the saw the pile of debris where Adam had crashed into, the bull faunus himself crawling out of it, his gun smoking.

"No... this isn't over yet!"

X pinched his brow in frustration. "For God's sake Adam! It's over, can't you see? You've got nothing left!"

"You're right, I don't... but Vile _did_ leave something."

Leaping back into the darkness, Adam disappeared from view for a few moments. X and Blake took aim at where Adam last was, looking slightly worriedly at each other.

Then, from in the pitch black, shone two bright blue eyes. A rumble followed and a gigantic metallic suit stepped forward.

It looked like a wolf type mechanaloid and stood on it's hind legs making it about three times the size of our heroes. It's front paws contained razor sharp claws and it's elbows and knees had a large protruding spike on each of them. It's head bore a striking resemblance to the White Fang emblem. The wolf head with sharp teeth and three claw marks down the front of the face. On it's back were a set of boosters and it's tail was covered in razor sharp edges, almost like a sword.

"Behold! Kiba HA Model V! The most advanced armour suit ever made!" Adam proclaimed, his voice echoing from inside the suit.

"Guessing you were responsible for the paint job, huh?" X joked, though deep down he was a bit nervous about this thing, it looked pretty tough.

"Far more than that. Vile designed it specifically to counter your moves, X. I put my input in to make it strong against the likes of Blake and her friends. It is practically invincible!"

"ENOUGH!" Blake yelled. "I'm sick of your nonsense! I gave you a second chance, Adam. Now I see that you are no better than those in Neo Arcadia. I have no problem binging them to justice, so I will do the same to you!"

Blake aimed her guns at the giant mech suit as X did the same with his buster.

"You will never harm anyone ever again, Adam Taurus!" Blake promised.

"Hmm hmm hmm. We'll just see about that."

(Insert music: Metal Slug 5 – Fierce Battle)

Adam activated the suits rocket boosters instantly and in a split second, zoomed up to X. He gave him an almighty punch to the face that launched him far away from Blake. Keeping in mind that X was a reploid, it was quite a surprise to see him forced away so easily.

Carrying on with the momentum for a bit, the left arm of the suit flipped around to reveal a minigun. Winding it up, Adam took aim at Blake, who promptly began sprinting across the room in a serpentine manner to avoid the incoming fire.

Adam aimed at her feet, prompting Blake to jump against the wall and start running along it, the bullet impacts not far off her heels. Running up as she moved along, she soon reached the ceiling before propelling herself straight down. Landing on her feet she began sprinting again.

The shots came ever closer to her. Desperate to avoid the fire, Blake summoned a copy of herself just ahead of her. As she approached it, the clone gave her a boost into the air with a quick throw before the clone itself was obliterated with a hail of gunfire. Blake summoned another one ahead of her and this time, allowed the clone to spin on the spot. Using it's momentum, the clone grabbed Blake and spun her briefly with it before releasing the faunus and throwing her away at great speed.

Adam was getting annoyed now. The minigun split down the middle and the two sections pulled apart and back, revealing a pair of small missiles. Adam took aim.

"DIE!"

He fired them and the payload zoomed off after Blake. Whistling through the air as they did so.

Reaching a wall, she leapt onto it and pushed herself back off just as the missiles approached her. Her jump let her just pass over the top of them, her feet grazing one of the missiles. The explosion however, still caught her and launched her back towards Adam.

Flipping through the air as she regained composure, Blake angled herself to swing her leg down just as she reached Adam. Her foot impacted on the armour with considerable power behind it but did no damage.

Adam threw Blake of him but she ran straight back in with successive sword slashes, each being blocked by Adam before he dodged backwards. Blake leapt up and down kicked into the armour again, following up with a sword stab.

She winced in pain however as Adam grabbed her wrist and twisted it around until she dropped her blade. He then pulled his other arm back and used the elbow to hit her in the gut. Blake gasped as the wind was knocked out of her before she was thrown away and skidded across the ground on her back.

Adam readied the machine gun again. He was about to execute Blake when he heard the sound of an energy weapon behind him and dashed to the side.

"Dammit!" X cursed as his sabre swing was evaded.

He jumped forward and tried another strike, then another and yet more. Each one was danced around with ease by the superior mobility of Adam's armour despite it's size. Regardless, X kept up his assault.

Blake managed to get back up and saw the situation X was in. The good news is that Adam was distracted from what she was doing, this was her chance!

Blake entered a zen like pose, her two fingers on her right hand held in front of her face and her eyes closed. She began to glow with a slightly greyish aura that pulsated around her, slowly at first but ever quickening.

X meanwhile did manage to land a hit on Adam's armour. The clang of the metal being the indicator of his success. The lack of damage though, was not part of the plan. Adam grabbed X by the neck before punching the hunter away and then dashing after him to finish the job.

It was at that precise moment, as X was flung past her and Adam drew near, that Blake opened her eyes. Looking straight at Adam, she pointed a finger at him and gave the simple command.

"Go."

As soon as her will was made known, an army greyed out clones of shot forward from Blake and slammed into Adam repeatedly, each one frozen in a pose of one of Blake's attacks.

Adam raised the arms of his robotic suit as the clones pummelled against it's frame. Each dissipated as soon as it made contact though not before leaving some serious dents in it. Soon however, the force of the endless assault was too much for the armour to bear and the wave of clones carried Adam back and smashed him into a wall, the rubble falling around him.

Blake panted for breath and wiped the sweat from her brow as she entered the pose again to strike once more. Leaping out of the crater he had left, Adam charged at Blake, determined not to let her do the same attack again.

He was too late as Blake fired the clones off once more. Adam readied the armours claws and began to slash away at every clone that came at him, making it evaporate away before it could land a hit. As he did so, he also continued to advance on Blake, slowly but surely.

As before, Blake ran out of energy to keep up the attack, falling to one knee, out of breath again. Powering through the pain, she drew her swords and began to dart around Adam's armour. Her speed was impressive, almost making her a blur as she landed strike after strike.

Adam stood perfectly still, waiting for his moment. Blake just moved a little too close as she ran and Adam seized his chance, grabbing her by the back of her collar and throwing her into the ceiling. Small cracks formed as she impacted upon it before dropping down towards Adam again.

He changed the minigun to a shotgun and, cocking a shell out of it, he fired at Blake when she was directly in front of his reticule. Luckily, her aura was still high enough that the shot was not fatal.

She yelped slightly as her body bounced off the floor and landed beside X, who was just starting to get back up.

"I can't get through that armour." X admitted.

"I found one way through." Blake said. "Trouble is, it's still not enough."

X suddenly had a flicker of an idea. He took Blake by the hand and pulled her up before she realised he had copied her power, adopting a black and white colour scheme.

"Alone, it's not enough, but together..."

Blake still hadn't really gotten over the idea that X had actually risked it to try and save her. She remained unsure until X turned her head towards his and looked into her eyes with honesty.

"It doesn't matter what you've done, or what happens from here. We're your friends Blake and we'll never abandon you."

With a smile, nod and tiny tears escaping her eyes, Blake began to charge up her attack again, letting the aura flow over her. X did the same pose and began to glow with the same effect. Opening one eye, he peeked at Blake.

"Am I doing it right?" He laughed.

"Focus." Blake replied.

X shut his eyes again and focused on the new power he had been given.

Adam saw what was happening and he knew it would not end well for him.

"No, no, NO!" He shouted as he rocketed towards the duo, who still did not budge. He drew ever closer as their aura pulsated faster and faster. He finally reached them and drew his arm back to strike. He was so close!

Then Blake and X opened their eyes.

Adam was left wide open as copies of X and Blake dashed outwards and struck at Adam without mercy. His armour began to buckle and bend, sparks and flashes of electricity were beginning to occur all over it.

With their clones still attacking, X and Blake switched to their normal weapons and took aim at the head of Adam's armour.

 ***BANG** *

 ***PEW** *

The shots hit the centre of the armours forehead and the head part flew off, revealing Adam's face again before the clones disappeared and let Adam's now useless suit fall to the ground like a pile of scrap metal. It was no longer a help but a prison as the release mechanism had been destroyed, trapping the bull faunus inside it.

Both X and Blake collapsed in relief as they realised their opponent was beaten. Falling to their knees, they landed against each other, prompting a small laugh from each of them.

"Where did you learn how to pull that off?" X asked.

"It's just a little trick I was saving for emergencies. Kinda thought this was a good time to use it." Blake smiled. "Takes a lot out of me though... no pun intended."

"Ha ha, you're getting just as bad as Yang!"

"Oh please, if you're going to do that then just shoot me now." Adam called over, prompting X and Blake to run to his location.

The armour was completely wrecked, all the joints were immobilised and vital mechanical fluids leaked out from the rubble they were crushed under. That fluid was also mixed with the unmistakable crimson of blood. The armour had landed on some steelwork that had gone right through the armour at the chest, hitting Adam as it went through.

"You've lost, Adam. The Atlesian army is on their way to pick you up. I imagine they will have plenty of unpleasant questions to ask you."

"Heh heh... you think I'm gonna let it end this way?" He said weakly.

"What choice do you have?" Blake asked.

As if on cue, the base sounded out an alarm and the whole building began to crumble around them.

 _ **SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED. 60 SECONDS TO DETINATION!**_

"Goodbye, my love... I'll be waiting for you on the other side..."

Before Blake could say anything in reply, the ceiling around Adam collapsed and buried the former White Fang leader in a tomb of concrete and steel. Blake cringed a little as the metal crunched beneath the weight of the debris but felt none of the sorrow she would have felt before today. Adam had brought this upon himself.

"We gotta go, now!" X said as the two made their way towards the exit.

(Insert music – Megaman X3 – Vile (Breis remix 2014)

The base was in complete turmoil. Small explosions occurring everywhere they went as the White Fang Mavericks fled as well, some even jumping straight over the edge into the sea below.

"Jumping out there won't do any good, we'll be caught in the blast before we can swim clear of the base!" X explained.

"What's the plan then?" Blake panted as she ran alongside him.

"We go to the top of the base and jump from there. If we get enough height, we should be able to make it to the cliff edge and we can get to a safe distance quickly that way!"

"Well there's the lift! Let's get going!"

Blake leapt inside and pressed the button for the top floor. Nothing happened. Frustrated, she pressed it again and again before slamming her fist against it.

"Shit! It's got no power! What do we do now?"

X looked up and saw the cable still attached to the roof. "We climb."

Blake sighed. "How did I know you were going to say that?"

Regardless, as X began scaling the wall with his wall jump, Blake leapt onto the roof of the lift and began climbing up the strong cables. She could wall run but with her lack of energy from the fight before, she didn't want to risk it.

A small crumble of concrete landed on her shoulder, attracting her attention for some reason. Looking up to where it cam from, she saw a large chunk of the base falling towards them.

"X! Heads up!"

X leapt off the wall he was on and air dashed across, activating his sabre as he did so. Passing by the hazard, he slashed across the centre of it and the piece broke into two small halves that fell either side of the lift.

Another piece fell towards X's position. Blake forced out one more clone that appeared above X. The debris smashed off the clone into hundreds of small fragments as the false Blake fell off the wall before disappearing.

"That one hurt, not gonna lie." Blake groaned, rubbing her head.

"Well we better keep moving while we've got the chance then, come on!"

 _ **BASE WILL SELF DESTRUCT IN 10 SECONDS!**_

Reaching the top floor of the observation tower, X and Blake sprinted to the edge before skidding to a halt. It looked a lot further away than they had anticipated. X bit his lip in slight worry, this wasn't going to be easy.

He was surprised when he felt Blake take his hand. Looking over, the cat girl gave him a small nod.

"We can make it."

Giving a thumbs up, the two stepped back and took a running start just as the explosions started to reach them.

 _ **3...**_

They began to sprint with all they could, X pulling Blake along by the hand with his boosters.

 _ **2...**_

The edge drew ever closer and they both held their breath as they prepared to leap forward.

 _ **1...**_

"JUMP!" X cried.

 _ ***KABOOM!***_

Their vision was filled with a blinding light as they left the platform. The heat from the explosion making their backs feel like they were on fire. Their eyes had to stay closed lest they go blind from the power of the blast.

The two didn't know where they were, they had jumped, now they just waited. It felt like an eternity was passing. Then, Blake's hands and legs felt something rough beneath them. Dry and dusty. As the light faded, Blake slowly opened her eyes to see the sight of the rocky ground of the cliff beneath them.

"We did it..." Blake said softly as X bashed the side of his helmet to fix his visual cameras.

"WE DID IT!" Blake squealed, fist pumping with one arm.

"Uh... Blake."

Looking at X, she saw the hunter looking up at her with a slightly sheepish look. She followed his arm and found they were still holding hands from when they left the platform. She quickly let go, making X fall face first to the ground.

"Ow..."

"Sorry!" Blake apologised as she tried to flush the redness out of her cheeks.

Looking back, the two saw what was left of Vile's base falling apart, the remains tumbling into the sea below to be swallowed up by the water.

"What happened to Vile and Neo in the end?" Blake asked.

X watched the base fall, thinking about his answer and remembering the strange encounter he had with the two of them.

"I don't know. What I do know, is that they have a choice. What choice they make now is up to them. Come on, let's head back."

Blake was unsure what he meant but decided not to question it. She an to catch up with him as Blake left the base and her past behind her.

 _ **Finally done! So this chapter ends Adam's part in the story. He is dead and gone, Blake has been rescued and all is well...**_

 _ **Except it's not!**_

 _ **What about Ruby and her fight with Sigma? Will Double silence Weiss forever? And will we see Vile and Neo again?**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	37. Trap Fanatics

_**Welcome back team! As usual, let's get the reviews sorted first.**_

 _ **As a general answer to all the review from the last chapter, I'm glad you all liked the battle so much. I have tried to update the fighting style of the characters, using their weapons less and their physical abilities more. This is particularly important for X since he was a traditional buster user and not one for close combat.**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: Should have guessed that much, Michael Bay doesn't have the skill to make such compelling dialogue.**_

 _ **Pea Brain Writer: Yeah, maybe those author notes were kind of jarring, if so I apologise.**_

 _ **Also about Yaboiooverthar... I genuinely have no idea what he is talking about... seriously. Is it some relationship term or what?**_

 _ **With that sorted, on we go.**_

(Insert music: Megaman Legends 2 OST – Yosyonke Church)

Watching the base fall apart through the eyes of a spy Reaverbot, the Aberrant Council members sat silently. It seemed as though they cared little but Gate and Lumine seemed more annoyed than anything else.

"Well that was disappointing." Lumine said.

"Yeah." Gate agreed. "I thought it would be amusing to see Adam throw one last tantrum but he went out with more of a whimper. X is still alive and he rescued his friend as well."

"Never trust a human or faunus to do a reploids job." Lumine concluded.

"Just as well we sent Double and Sigma out there then, isn't it?" The scientist smiled.

Through all this though, there was one council member who sat lost in thought.

Zero.

The spy Reaverbot had caught glimpses of the battle that had taken place, mostly to try and understand the abilities of X and his friends. That was not what echoed the reploids mind though.

No, it was how X had reacted to everything so far. He didn't abandon his friends or comrades. He fought with everything he had to try and save them. He even showed mercy upon his attackers when he could. It was all of these acts that sent ripples through his memory banks.

" _Zero don't you recognise me? We're partners!"_

The conflict at the arena still weighed down the red reploid. X claimed he knew him, now these memories that were coming back seemed to support that.

" _I'm afraid for every kind and sensitive reploid like you X, there always seems to be a borderline maverick like Vile around."_

He could remember speaking with X, he could remember fighting alongside him but... those memories could be fake. It was all to easy to replace a reploids memory data with another load of false memories. He needed clarification. He needed to talk to someone who would know both X and him well enough to speak the truth.

That was when his eyes snapped back to the feed, showing a purple reploid carrying a pink haired girl away from the base in his arms. They were both badly injured, they would pose no threat.

Zero rose from his seat and made his way out of the throne room.

"Going somewhere, Zero?" Xevach asked.

"I grow tired of simply watching." He lied. "I am going to train with some of the corrupted Grimm."

Xevach seemed to believe him. "Very well then, good hunting."

With that, Zero made his way out of the room and towards not the training area, but the transerver room. Inputting the co-ordinates of Vile's former base, he stood and awaited the transport process to begin.

If the Council would not tell him, he would get his answers another way.

 _ **Patch Island – Signal City**_

Mercury and Emerald regrouped having drawn Ruby and Yang's friends far away from the battle they were having with Sigma. They met up at one of the busy market areas in Signal City's shopping district. The locals were obviously bewildered at the sight before them, unsure of what to do.

Emerald spoke with a filtered sounding voice due to her breathing apparatus. She raised her hand and a glowing orb of energy appeared in it.

"Attention shoppers, the market is now closed."

She then threw the orb at one of the groups of stall and it exploded in a fiery pillar. Naturally, the terrified civilians began to run for their lives. Mercury continued to destroy the other surrounding stalls.

Mercury seemed content to enjoy watching until he saw a female shop owner crawl out from the wreckage that was once her store. He knelt down towards her and revealed a grenade launcher concealed within his kneecap. Not even having a second of remorse, he fired the grenade which engulfed the woman in a sea of fire.

Or it would have if Jaune had not leapt in at the last second with his semblance activated. Dismissing the barrier, he helped the woman to her feet.

"Get out of here, we'll handle this."

The shop owner sprinted away as Pyrrha, Ren and Nora arrived.

"Aw, isn't that cute?" Mercury mocked. "The knight in shining armour saving the damsel in distress."

"Why are you ding this?" Jaune demanded. "Why would you side with Sigma and Neo Arcadia? Don't you realise he want to destroy all of humanity?"

Mercury got serious. "Don't take us for fools, Arc. Of course we realise we're working for the bad guys. They are going to destroy every human and faunus alive and we're going to help them."

"But why?" Ren reiterated.

"Why?" Emerald said sadly. "Because we have no choice. It is the only way we can be freed."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"We can't get our old bodies back, we can't change our destiny. If we don't fight, Sigma will force us not to die but to live on."

Mercury continued. "If we defeat you here and now, Sigma will destroy us. If we lose to you, you will destroy us. Either way, we'll come out winners... in a weird, twisted way. So why don't we have some fun and go out with a bang?"

(Insert music: Megaman ZXA Tunes – Trap Phantasm)

Mercury opened the battle with a powerful kick aimed at Jaune, only for it to impact his shield. He quickly backed away and tried again, though Jaune held his defence well. The third time Mercury tried to strike, Jaune side stepped him and the blue haired boy stopped just beside Jaune. Pyrrha then ran up behind him and bashed Mercury into the ground with her shield with enough force to break the ground.

Thinking the job was done, Pyrrha and Jaune relaxed, only to have Mercury blast out of the ground behind them and this time land one of his trademark kicks to Pyrrhas back. The Spartan smashed into Jaune and the two were sent flying with Mercury in hot pursuit.

Seeing the danger approaching, Pyrrha threw Jaune to the safety of the ground after he rolled a bit. She then flipped in the air and landed against the wall of a nearby building. Sliding down slightly, Mercury's next strike hit the wall just above her head, grazing her hair it was so close.

She then grabbed Mercury by the leg and threw him underneath her against the wall. Letting him bounce off it, Jaune was ready to smack him right back into it. The two repeated this action several times like Mercury was a tennis ball being hit against the wall. Jaune and Pyrrha then stuck Mercury with their blades together and sent him right through the building. Letting the boy fall through the other side, they then jumped through the rubble to continue the chase.

Emerald meanwhile was dealing with Ren and Nora. Letting the jewels in her robotic arms glow purple for a moment, she called forth two shadowy clones of Ren and Nora.

"Since when could you do that?" Nora asked.

"Guess those were part of Sigma's upgrades, right?" Ren said.

With a look of no pity, she sent Ren's copy to take on Pyrrha and Jaune while sending the Nora off to fight against her original self, leaving Ren to fight alone for the moment. The two dashed across each other, Ren using his blades and Emerald using her arms which were made of Ceretanium.

"That stuff again? Seriously, how much of that do you have?" Ren asked, annoyed.

The two crossed rapidly, only taking quick swipes at each other, though none found their target. On the next one however, Ren front flipped over her strike and converted the dodge into a downward stab with his two pistol blades, knocking Emerald to her knees briefly.

Nora had managed to almost lose her shadowy copy. Seeing the clone approach, she ducked in behind some of the ruined stalls. The clone arrived seconds later, confused and angered.

"Where the hell are you, ginger?"

Nora giggled quietly to herself and leapt from the bushes. Raising her hammer overhead, she swung it like a golf club and caught her doppelgänger by surprise, sending her shooting off through some more buildings. Oh well, at least she didn't have to pay for them.

"Aw yeah, that's how it's done you little- WAH!"

As Nora celebrated, the Ren clone zoomed across and smashed into her with, sending Nora off in the same direction as her clone. Emerald then tried to follow Ren but Pyrrha landed in front of her and began slashing away at Emerald's form. The cyborg foe blocked each strike expertly.

Emerald was about to retaliate when she was knocked to the ground by Jaune being thrown into her.

"Ow." Jaune rubbed his back. "Aw crap!" Dodging aside, he missed a kick from Mercury which naturally hit Emerald in behind him. Emerald grit her teeth in pain as Jaune seized the opportunity to keep up the assault, slashing at Emerald several times before bashing her away with his shield.

Nora's clone meanwhile had caught up to her original self and swung her hammer into the original Nora's gut. Keeping the pressure on, she then whacked her in the back with a sickening thud. The fake Ren now joined in and they knocked poor Nora back and forth between them with alternating attacks.

The fake Nora raised her hammer to finish her true self off. Before she could however, the original Ren grabbed the hammer she had raised over her head and using all his might, he pulled her back towards him. Sticking his leg out as he did so, the fake Nora tripped and Ren hit her with her own hammer before tossing it away and electing to use his blades instead.

The fake Ren tried to help but the original Nora recovered and blocked his attempt with a grenade to his chest. Nora then switched back to her hammer and spun around like a ballet dancer, holding her hammer out as she did so. The result was being hit by a hundred hammer strikes in a few seconds.

"Ren! Hammer throw!" She called.

Ren quickly leapt up and grabbed his friend by the arm. Spinning her around, Nora held out her hammer with the other arm and as they built up enough momentum, Ren released her. Nora smashed her weapon into the fake Ren's chest before moving back slightly and firing another grenade at him.

Emerald and Mercury had tried to withdraw but were being followed by Jaune and Pyrrha. They then found themselves cornered in a back alley with nowhere to go.

"Now we've got you!" Jaune puffed.

Emerald looked up briefly before nudging Mercury to bring his attention to what she saw. A quick nod of agreement and the two villains began jumping between the walls as they ascended towards the rooftops.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune called.

"Done!" she replied.

Casting her semblance on Jaune's armour, making him glow with a black aura, she threw her fiancée straight up at a rate of knots that was ample enough to catch up to Emerald and Mercury.

Jaune kept his shield up and smashed directly into Mercury but stayed with him as the two tumbled onto the roof top. Emerald was surprised by this but was even more surprised when Pyrrha's shield hit her in the face, followed by the red haired huntress using her semblance once more to pull herself towards the shield.

Swinging from the handle of it, Pyrrha kicked Emerald straight upwards before landing gracefully on the roof herself. With all four on the rooftop, it became a bit more of a disorganised brawl.

Emerald got back up and punched Pyrrha straight back in return. Jaune then charged into her so Mercury then tried to tackle Jaune. The blond knight leapfrogged over him though and returned the favour with a sword slash. Emerald came straight back and fired a powerful fire blast from the crystals on her hands. The explosion forced Jaune away as Pyrrha resumed her attack on Emerald.

It was now Mercury's turn as he grabbed Jaune's shield and threw him into Pyrrha. Mercury tried to follow this up with another strike but Pyrrha threw her shield in front of Jaune and blocked the hit on behalf of him. She then used her semblance to throw the shield into Mercury before pulling it back and shoulder charging him away. Emerald gave chase but forgot about Jaune who also used his shield like a ram.

Carrying the two villains side by side, the perfect partners pushed them off their shields and performed a simultaneous sword slash that knocked them back towards the original starting location of the fight.

At the same time, Ren and Nora had practically threw their copies back to the same location. The result was a massive collision between the four enemies. The clones had taken so much damage that they dissipated, leaving Mercury and Emerald to fight alone.

Mercury got up and spat some blood from his mouth, wiping the trickle that remained from his mouth.

"You're tougher than you look Arc. Guess it's all that training your girlfriend gave you."

"Glad you noticed in between the beatings we just gave you." Jaune responded.

"Please, we were just getting warmed up. Now we know you're capable of holding you own we don't have to hold back any more!"

Before engaging again, Mercury activated two large sabre blades on each of his legs. He then hurricane kicked towards JNPR, forcing them to split up before kicking down into the ground and launching a barrage of debris around himself.

Stomping the ground, he launched a piece of the rubble into the air before round kicking it towards Ren.

"I got it!" Nora called as she switched to her grenade launcher and blew the projectile to smithereens before it could do any harm.

Pyrrha noticed that Emerald had seemingly disappeared before she made herself visible at a great distance away. Holding her arms to the sky, Emerald spoke a single word.

"Thunder."

Several sparks of electricity were fired from her hand crystals and began zig zagging their way towards team JNPR. Jaune stepped forward and angled his shield in anticipation of them. He would not waste them though. Rather than simply blocking the electricity, he deflected them towards Mercury.

The blue haired brute was more than ready though, using the energy sabres on his legs to absorb their power and render the projectiles useless. At least now they couldn't harm the rest of Jaune's team.

Mercury came back for more, leaping into the middle of the team and trying to cut each of them into strips with his leg blades. Pyrrha and Jaune had no trouble blocking with their shields but Ren and Nora had a more difficult time. Ren was using his speed to his advantage, acrobatically dodging every kick that came his way. Nora was not so agile and so relied on a mix of blocks from her hammer as well as using it's propulsion trigger to gain extra speed for her dodges.

"Emerald, now!"

"Begone!"

Casting the thunder once more, Emerald focused both orbs onto Mercury. A brillaint electric surge burst forth from him and expanded outwards, blasting all of team JNPR away from him. Ren and Nora were thrown one way and Pyrrha and Jaune another.

Emerald brought her hands close together and fired off a cloud of icy mist from each one. Moulding it in the air, she created a beautiful ice hourglass shape which she then dropped to the ground. It did not shatter as JNPR suspected it would but began bouncing towards Ren and Nora.

"Guys, take that thing out, quick!" Jaune warned.

Ren and Nora opened fire with their respective weapons but the bouncing object seemed to have some degree of awareness as it bounced around the various explosions from the grenades as well as being tough enough to resist Ren's bullets. It came ever closer before making one last giant leap into the air and coming down right beside Ren and Nora.

 ***BOOM***

The two were quickly engulfed in a sub zero cloud of mist, much to the dismay of Jaune and Pyrrha. They could only watch and hope their friends were alright but the sound of crackling ice made them fear for the worst, as It turned out to be.

The mist was soon blown away but revealed both Ren and Nora trapped in an icy prison, the looks of surprise on their faces revealing they had been flash frozen. At least that meant they were still alive but this did little to pacify either Pyrrha or Jaune's outrage.

"I always said that hyper little ginger needed to chill out! Gahaha!" Mercury joked.

"You soulless monster!" Pyrrha snarled.

"Looks like you need to do the same as your friends. Emerald, how about an ice pack for these two?"

Emerald detached her hands from her wrists and they floated around Jaune and Pyrrha quickly. They then pointed down and began casting sharp icicles which were fired off rapidly. Ice is not the toughest material in the world but these natural bullets were tough enough to embed themselves in the concrete without breaking, as such, Jaune and Pyrrha did not want to risk using their shields lest the ice got through and tore off their arms!

As Pyrrha danced her way around the lethal shards, Mercury saw a prime chance to strike.

"Enkoukyaku!" He shouted.

Mercury kicked straight down at Pyrrha, though this time his leg was engulfed with fire. Pyrrha stepped back and dodged the initial kick but Mercury still hit the ground and caused fireballs to erupt from around the point of impact. Shooting in all directions like a volcanic eruption, Pyrrha held her shield above her head for protection, the rocks clattering upon it relentlessly.

It soon subsided but as Pyrrha got back into a fighting stance, Mercury leapt onto her and was practically sitting on her shoulders. He then tightened his grip with his thighs before throwing his body weight backwards. The two backflipped with Pyrrha hitting the ground front first and Mercury stomping down on top of her back.

He readied himself for a finishing blow when Jaune threw himself into the fray and slashed the back of the joints between Mercury's thighs and legs. Mechanical fluid spurted out from the gashes and Mercury's legs began to stiffen up thanks to the loss of the fluid.

"Gah! You son of a bitch!" Mercury cursed. "Emerald, take care of these two!"

"Why you..." Emerald softly growled before swooping in and casting the electrical shots once more.

This time however, they formed around her as long poles of electrical energy, forming a barrier that Jaune could not get through. He started to back away as Emerald approached him slowly, the electrical field drawing ever nearer. Jaune slashed away occasionally but his blade would not go through the barrier.

Jaune started to panic now as Emerald spun two of the electrical staffs to point directly at the knight. Pyrrha groaned as she got back up from Mercury's attack, only to gasp in horror as she saw her beloved being cornered. Springing to her feet, she began making for Emerald but she knew there was no way she would make it in time.

Jaune braced himself for Emeralds critical blow, raising his shield on the slight chance that it would protect him, though he knew deep down it would not be enough.

"Jaune, NO!" Pyrrha cried as Emerald thrust her staffs forward.

 ***BZZZT** *

The sound of electricity buzzing told Jaune he had been hit. The lack of pain however told him otherwise. What had just happened? Had Pyrrha made it? She shouldn't have, it was impossible.

"You will never win with your eyes shut like that, my friend."

That voice... was that?

(Insert music: Megaman X Command mission – Massimo of Steel)

Opening his eyes, Jaune saw not Emerald in front of him, but a huge hulking man covered in black steel armour. Looking up at the gargantuan defender, he saw an all too familiar red, spiky ponytail at the top of his helmet.

"Klaymoor?" Jaune asked in disbelief.

"Well it sure ain't Santa!" Bola joked as he appeared on Klaymoor's shoulder.

Jaune laughed with a mix of relief and surprise at the two appearing. "Not that I don't appreciate it but, why are you two here?"

"Klaymoor heard you were in town and wanted a rematch. Seems we have a different fight on our hands now though." Bola explained as he peered past Emerald and waved to Pyrrha.

"Miss Nikos! These two clowns giving you trouble?"

Pyrrha nodded. "Yes, to put it lightly."

"Yo, Klaymoor. I'm gonna go thaw out our friends over there, do me a favour and wail on these two for me. Show them what happens when they mess with our friends."

"Gladly." Klaymoor replied before drawing his massive blade as Jaune and Pyrrha readied up beside him and prepared to advance on Emerald and Mercury.

"I still want my rematch after this, Miss Nikos. I'll consider this a warm up." Klaymoor laughed.

"Even if it is just warm up, these two are a threat. Don't feel like you have to go easy on them." Pyrrha explained.

"Oh don't worry. I never do!"

 _ **Betcha thought they were a one time cameo, huh? Nope, I brought them back into this! Emerald and Mercury better start praying methinks! The question now is, what about Ruby and Yang. Not to mention Zero, will he get the answers he seeks and who is he going to even get them from?**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	38. A Rose with Thorns

_**The OC Maniac: First off, welcome to the story! Secondly, it's not meant to be Bass' colours, that's just the way the D – Arts figure was made. It changes later on so it hopefully doesn't bother you too much.**_

 _ **MetalSonic30: That's what I was going for. I agree though, they would be no match for the real Prometheus and Pandora!**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Thanks for the clarification. Don't worry about the spoilers thing though, I think people are seeing the way it might go. Whether it continues that way is a different matter entirely! :3**_

 _ **Pea Brain Writer: Again ,thanks for the explanation. I've never been big on visual novels so I don't really know the jargon. Thanks for explaining it though!**_

"Ruby Rose. It is truly an honour to finally meet you in person. I must admit that your skills thus far have impressed me greatly, perhaps in time they will be a match for my own."

Ruby tried her best to stand firm but her body language and rapid breathing prevented that little show of bravery. Not that anyone could blame her, she knew who she was facing right now.

"You're... you're Sigma... right?" She asked timidly.

"Indeed, that is my name. It is a name that carries fear with it, the same fear that I can hear in your voice as you speak. The same fear that makes your knees tremble and your feet want to run far away, because you know what I am capable of. I have started revolutions across the planet, turned armies against each other, brought humanity to it's knees and driven your friend X to the ragged edge."

"Why are you here? Afraid your little pets won't be able to handle us?" Yang asked as she stepped protectively in front of her sister.

"Yang Xiao Long, always there for her little sister. Let me say first of all that I have a great deal of admiration for you. Your skill and strength is impressive and your loyalty, as you display to your sister here, deserves respect. Had I such loyalty in my own ranks, this situation may never have happened, alas it must be so."

"Get to the point." Yang snapped. "You said you wanted to take my sister. Since we both know that isn't going to happen, you may as well tell me why."

"If you must know, I am here on a little research endeavour. Your peoples history has revealed a great many things to us. The origins of the Grimm, the founding of your nations and much more. Yet there is one area that interests me greatly, yet has no answers. Tell me, have you heard of the legends of the Silver Eyed Hunters?"

"Aren't you a little old to be looking at storybooks, Sigma?" Yang replied.

"The Silver Eyed Hunters. Legendary warriors who could defeat Grimm just by looking at them. Having seen the power of such legends come to be real for yourself, I'm surprised you would dismiss such tales so quickly. Of course, in order to find out if it's true or not, I need a subject with silver eyes to test. It just so happened that you were in the neighbourhood, Miss Rose."

Yang activated Ember Vindicta and aimed it at Sigma, blocking off Ruby from Sigma's direct line of attack. The young huntress peering out from behind her older sibling.

"I didn't expect you to come willingly. Not that it matters, the combat data will increase my research efforts greatly. It is time to fight Miss rose, show me the true power of a Silver Eyed Huntress!"

Yang moved her arm out over Ruby, blocking her path to Sigma.

"Ruby, you need to run, now!"

"But..."

"Go and find JNPR, they'll keep you safe, I'll cover you."

"Yang you can't that's insane and-"

"There's no time! GO!"

(Insert music: Megaman X4 – Sigma 1st)

Sigma raised his hand and began charging up an energy blast. In response, Yang knelt down and smashed both of her fists into the ground. Pulling them back up, she held two large concrete slabs, both the height of her own body and held by metal support rods that she had bent into handles. Holding them both in front of herself, she used them as a shield to protect herself while Ruby moved behind her.

"Go hide in that building, run as soon as you get an opening!" Yang ordered.

Sigma fired a few shots and them leapt into the air before firing some more down at Yang from above. Holding one of the slabs over her head, Yang strained as she barely managed to block the power of the energy shots. Sigma then tried to attack from the rear but Yang quickly switched one of the slabs to protect her back as she slid the slabs around to meet every one of Sigma's strikes.

Frustrated, Sigma grabbed one of the slabs and threw it into the air, taking Yang with it. Quickly spinning around to hold the slabs beneath her, Yang just managed to block another punch from below as Sigma rocketed above her and charged up what seemed to be another energy shot. This time though, he sent the energy directly to his fist. Yang braced fro another hit to tank.

 ***BOOM***

A ball of dust formed around her as the two concrete slabs were shattered, leaving Yang defenceless as air combat was not her forte. Sigma swung his foot down on her and she spiralled down to the ground, smashing into the building just across from where Ruby was hiding.

"Yang!" Ruby called out with concern, only to gasp in realisation that Sigma now knew where she was.

He began pacing towards Ruby's hiding spot when a buster shot hit him in the back. It did barely any damage but was enough to anger Sigma and direct his attention away from Ruby.

Looking over his shoulder, Yang was standing with her new arm buster smoking slightly. She had a pissed off look on her face as she aimed the buster at Sigma's head.

"Step...away...from my sister."

Sigma dashed straight towards Yang who promptly fired a rocket punch into the ground, propelling herself over Sigma's head. Coming back down, Sigma tried to swing at her but was met with a buster shot to the chest that forced him out of the attack before Yang threw herself at him and punched the Reploid villain with Ember Celica.

This was followed by a three hit combo punch from Yang, the last of which carried Sigma away with the momentum before she pounced on him and pushed him into the ground. The concrete tore up around them as the two slid across the street. Yang pulled her arm back for another punch when Sigma teleported away briefly.

With nothing beneath her, Yang caught herself on the ground and began tumbling along the road. It was then that Sigma reappeared beside her and smashed her in the opposite direction.

Yang slammed against an office block and was about to fall back off it when Sigma flew straight into her and carried her through the building, smashing glass and furniture aside as he did so before throwing her out the other side.

Teleporting away as Yang tumbled through the air, he reappeared above her and fired an energy shot at her that changed Yang's angle of travel downwards. She bounced off the ground and slid along her front before Sigma landed on her and stomped down on her back, practically grinding her against the road as they slowly lost momentum.

Yang groaned as she got back up. She couldn't lose this, she wouldn't! If she did, Ruby would be in serious danger.

As Sigma approached once more, Yang's eyes darted around for anything that could help her. They fell upon the ruined building she had just gone through. Among the debris was a length of reinforced chain, perfect.

Sprinting over to it, Yang wrapped one end of the chain around her right arm to ensure she kept hold of it. Looking around again, she found a small security safe and began tying the other end of the chain to it, effectively creating a makeshift heavy flail. With a small grin at her ingenuity, Yang weighed the new weapon up in her hand.

She wasted no time in putting it to use, swinging the chain out wide for maximum power, she caught Sigma by surprise with a hit to his right side. As the giant Reploid stumbled, she swung it overhead and landed a strike on the top of his head. Another wide swing removed the safe from the ground and and got another hit to the side before she wound the chain in a bit and flung the safe upwards to hit Sigma in the jaw, knocking him onto his back.

Time to end this. Yang began swinging the mace by spinning on the spot, like a hammer thrower at the Olympics. As she gained speed, she gradually extended the chain outwards before releasing all off the chain so the length was sufficient enough to reach Sigma. The Reploid was scooped up and carried on the end of the flail which Yang still spun wildly.

Changing her aim slightly, Yang lowered Sigma down and began smashing him through the surrounding buildings, the various obstacles doing little to slow Yang's swing speed before she threw the chain up, taking Sigma overhead and slamming him down into the ground. A massive shock wave shot out from the crater that Sigma made on impact, smashing the few remaining intact panels in the windows as rubble fell on top of Sigma's still form before settling into an eerie silence.

Yang fell to her knees, breathing deeply. She moved to sit on the ground and leant back as a cooling breeze swept over her. She had done it, Sigma was beaten. There was no way he could survive that, right?

As Yang tried to catch her breath, the pile of rubble that made Sigma's tomb started to crack and move. Small pieces began to fly off and roll down the side of the pile. Cautiously, yang got up and approached slowly. Just before she reached the pile, a blinding explosion threw her back along with the debris that flew past her.

Squinting through the fire and dust, Yang saw that Sigma was not yet beaten but did look very different.

His normal attire was completely gone. Instead, his body appeared to be made of various bits and pieces of black metal. Large spikes of various lengths and shapes protruded from his wrists and feet as well as to large horns on his head. One of the horns was broken at the top and the missing shape was filled in by swirling wisps of green data. His hands were also made of the data energy as were parts of his legs, thighs, feet and most of his lower body. The centre of his chest was missing, instead replaced with a red, pulsating sphere that seemed to act as his core/heart. The same red glow that came from it was also present in his eyes and mouth.

He looked like something from Hell itself.

Yang swung the chain around again to try the same tactic that had worked so well prior to this development. Instead, Sigma caught the safe in one hand and tore it off the end of the chain.

Yang quickly pulled it back and tried to wrap it around Sigma's wrist. She gave a smirk as the chain hugged her enemies wrist tightly. Only to lose that confidence when Sigma smiled straight back at her.

Yanking the chain hard, Sigma pulled Yang off her feet and straight towards him. As she drew closer, Sigma threw a punch with his free hand that sent her straight back. Yang skidded along the ground before yelling out a cry of pain as Sigma pulled the chain tight to stop her flying off. He then pulled her back in again and repeated the move three times, each one making Yang feel like her arm was going to be pulled out of it's socket!

Sigma then threw her overhead and Yang passed over the top of him before landing in the dirt with a huge force. He then swung Yang just like she had done prior, sending the Huntress through piles of rubble as she tried in vain to get the chain off her hand.

"Enough of this!" Sigma called before flying upwards, pulling Yang with him like a dog on a leash.

As they reached the tops of the buildings, Sigma began spinning Yang around on the end of the chain. The world was becoming blurry and Yang was thankful she had a strong stomach. If Jaune was being spun there would be a heck of a mess to clean up afterwards.

As Yang hit speeds she previously though unattainable, Sigma relinquished his grip on the chain, sending Yang back down with enough speed to create a mach cone! With that much momentum, the first building did little to stop her. She smashed right through it, the same happened with the second one. It was only the third building that slowed her enough as she smashed into the reinforced exterior.

Embedded within it for a few moments, she slowly slipped out and fell to the ground, landing with a clatter that made her sister cringe. Ruby watched on before realising that Yang wasn't getting up.

"Yang! YANG!" Ruby sprinted over to aid her sister, only to have Sigma appear right beside Yang.

Ruby skidded to a halt as Sigma placed a foot on top of Yang's body and threatened to press down and crush her to death.

"Such beautiful resolve. In in the face of impossible odds, your sister refused to give up on you."

Ruby looked at the demon standing before her. She had never seen anything like him, what was this guy? Did Yang do this to him?

"She put up a fight from the looks of it. You don't look so good, Sigma." Ruby snarled.

"What she fought prior was my false self, a simple shell created to aid my true regeneration. As you can see, it still hadn't finished by the time Yang fought me. Of course, that's what happens when you're brought back to life so many times."

As Sigma pressed his foot down harder, Ruby tried to strike. Drawing Crescent Rose, she slashed out at Sigma's head, only to have him catch the scythe blade like it was a toy before kneeing Ruby in the stomach, forcing her to let go of the weapon.

As Ruby fell to her knees, Sigma grabbed her by the throat and began choking the life out of her. Ruby kicked the air and clasped at Sigma's hand to no avail as the metal maniac laughed to himself.

"Where's the legendary power I heard tales of, Rose? Are you not going to show it to me? Even if it will save the life of your sister? Or is it really just a legend? I'm beginning to think the latter."

Ruby's vision began to blur and fade, she was losing consciousness, she couldn't get any air into her lungs and they felt like they were on fire now. She looked down, hoping against hope that Yang was maybe still awake and could do something. Her still form put an end to those hopes.

"You invited all of this upon yourself, Ruby. The suffering you and your friends are going through now, is all because of your own actions. You befriended X and took him under your wings, drawing yourselves into our conflict. Now you will suffer the consequences of your actions. You and your friends are just a barrier between us and our new world, a barrier that I will remove."

After hearing those words, Ruby blacked out.

 _ **? - ?**_

(Insert music: Megaman Zero 4 Remastered – Promise – Next New World (Overseas Version)

Ruby gently opened her eyes. She was lying still as a gentle wind blew against her face. Looking to the sky above her, she saw it was sunset. A still and peaceful autumn sunset, as evidenced by the red and auburn leaves that fell occasionally around her. Watching one gently fall beside her, she realised that she was lying in some tall grass, it's quiet rustling brought about only by the wind and her own movements as she sat up to survey the scene.

It was a clifftop setting and one that felt all too familiar. The cliff side near the edge of the forest, Ruby had been here many times before. As she stood up and recalled the location in her memory, she turned to find a figure standing by the cliff edge. They wore a pure white cloak that fluttered gently in the breeze and in between it's motions, Ruby could see a few streaks of black hair.

Ruby approached with slight trepidation. She believed she knew who it was but her common sense told her it wasn't possible. Until a soft and tender voice came from the figure.

"There she is... my sweet little gemstone."

Ruby practically keeled over in shock, there was only one person who called her by that nickname. A person she hadn't seen since she was a small child, yet had spoken to many times before. On this same clifftop no less.

"M...mom?"

Turning slowly to face her, Ruby saw the face of her mother smiling sweetly back at the young Huntress. Her dad was right, it was like looking in a mirror. A mirror that made you slightly older and have a change of hairstyle but she could easily see why her father had said she was the spitting image of her mother.

Ruby didn't bother to hold herself back. With tears flowing, she ran and embraced her mother once more. It felt so real. Her mother's warm hands wrapped around her and her breath upon her skin. Summer returned the embrace with equal measure as the two enjoyed the moment. Though it wasn't long before Ruby began to sob once again.

"Sweetheart, what is the matter?" Summer asked, not releasing her hold as Ruby cried into her shoulder.

"You don't have to hide it mom. I know this isn't real. As much as I want it to be, as much as I want you to be here, I know this is all a dream.

Summer held her even tighter. "I've always been with you Ruby. I never left you or Yang because I still live on with you. Right here."

She pointed gently to Ruby's heart before looking into Ruby's eyes with the motherly smile that she had always given her and Yang.

"I've always been with you ever since I had to go. I saw you and Yang growing up together. I've seen your adventures in Beacon and meeting your friends: Blake, Pyrrha, Jaune, Nora, Ren and Weiss... make sure you tell her I said not to call you a 'dolt' again. No one talks to my daughter like that!"

Ruby laughed at the joke and wiped away a few tears.

"I was with you when you took down Roman and the White Fang and I've been with you since you met X and all the trials you have faced with him. Then again, that's why your here, isn't it? Because of that brute Sigma."

Ruby replied hurriedly. "He wants me because I'm apparently some legendary warrior. Something to do with Silver Eyes or something, but I don't even know what he's talking about! Yang tried to fight him and... oh my gosh! Yang! I gotta get back! I gotta help her but... but..."

Ruby fell to her knees and was crying again in a total panic. "I can't do it! I'm not strong enough. I'm no legendary hero like X or skilled Huntress like you! I just want to keep those I care about safe... but how can I?"

Summer knelt down and gently lifted Ruby's chin. Wiping away her tears gently, Summer spoke in a soft and comforting voice.

"My sweet little Rose. I was told the same thing, that I was some kind of legendary hero because of my eye colour. Truth be told, I never really understood what it was or how it came to be but I do know how to use it."

"How? How?" Ruby almost begged.

Summer smiled sweetly as she tried to settle her daughter.

"Skills aren't what will give you that power, neither is experience. It's something you've shown me time and time again throughout your adventures. It's your spirit, your will. It's not about being something you are not, it's about embracing what you are."

"What do you mean? I don't... I don't understand."

"You didn't change yourself to make the friends you have now, they accepted you for who you were. You didn't learn some fancy new moves to defeat Roman, just honed the skills that were your own. Even if those Silver Eyes are a true thing or not, it doesn't matter. You don't need some special power to overcome the challenges you face, you just need to look inside yourself and believe you can do it...

… just like I have always believed in you."

The picturesque scene around them began to fade to white, as did Summer herself, albeit more slowly. Ruby embraced her mother one more time before Summer gently released her grip and spoke once more.

"You better get going, someone has to keep an eye on your sister."

Ruby smiled as she began to leave the vision behind. Before Summer disappeared into Ruby's heart once more, she had one more thing to say.

"Ruby. Though I never liked you swearing, I feel the appropriate line is... 'give 'em hell'?"

The two shared one final laugh before Summer faded away and Ruby readied herself to come back to reality. This time though, she would be ready!

 _ **Back in Reality**_

(Insert music: Megaman X Command Mission – Fight X!)

Sigma was taken aback when Ruby's eyes opened up, staring daggers at him. She quickly threw a kick to the joint in his arm, her legs being just long enough to reach it, forcing him to release her. Ruby immediately jumped back and picked up Crescent Rose as Sigma moved his foot off Yang to prepare for battle.

Ruby closed her eyes and thought of her mother's words.

"Embrace what I am..." She said quietly to herself.

Sigma laughed. "Resorted to praying now, have we? It will do you no good, now just stay still and die!"

Ruby's eyes shot open with her silver iris's aglow. Sigma gasped as he felt the aura of power surrounding Ruby increase dramatically.

"It is true. The legends are true!" He said.

Scarcely able to comprehend the sight before him, Sigma steeled himself and summoned his Sigma Blade, the giant sword warping in in a spiral of data. Raising it overhead, he charged at Ruby, not wanting to risk letting her power reach these new heights.

He was far too late though. The silver glow from Ruby's eyes now covered her whole body and weapon. She drew Crescent Rose behind herself and rushed to meet Sigma.

The two warriors weapons clashed, emitting a silver flash of light as they did so. Sigma strained against Ruby's new found strength, such power from a little girl should not have been possible. This was exactly why he had wanted to seize Ruby and also why he feared her.

Hearing a small click from the top of Ruby's scythe, Sigma didn't notice the sniper barrel emerging in time.

 ***BANG** *

"Gah! You little-"

A bullet had hit Sigma straight in the middle of his forehead crystal, forcing him to back away as a hand covered the wound. Ruby moved back and concentrated the silver energy into her scythe. The whole weapon began to glow bright with light and it seemed to leave Sigma in a state of shock, unable to retreat.

Ruby shot forward in a blur with a trail of rose petals left in her wake, swinging her scythe forward, she dashed straight through Sigma.

"HIIIIIIIIYAAAAAAAAAH!"

Standing still at the other side, the glow from her weapon subsided and the young Huntress remained still on the spot as she heard Sigma groaning behind her, followed by a loud-

 ***CLUNK** *

There, twitching on the ground, was Sigma's arm. It had been removed with almost surgical precision, the scythe blade leaving a clean cut from which a mix of robotic fluid and data energy now dripped and emanated from.

Sigma clasped his missing arm as Ruby walked over to him, a straight look on her face, a look that sent actual fear into Sigma. Something the former Maverick Hunter commander would never have admitted to before. Backing away from her at a matching pace, he checked some sort of readout displayed on his eye before moving further back and beginning to teleport away.

"It's enough..." He managed to splutter out. "It's enough... for our needs."

With that, Sigma was gone and Ruby took a sigh of relief.

"R...Ruby?"

Ruby shot straight up and dashed over to Yang with a massive hug. She had just managed to get back up and Ruby had practically knocked her back down in the process.

"Yang! You're alright!"

Yang spat out some blood from her mouth. "Please, like that tin can would be able to keep me down. I'm more impressed about what you just did. I came to as soon as that light hit me. What was that? What did you do?"

Ruby wasn't sure either. She didn't know what that power was, maybe X would know. Nevertheless, she at least knew how to wield it. She smiled and placed a hand over her heart.

"Nothing special. I just believed in myself."

 _ **YAY! A happy ending to that battle! Will Ruby ever find out what that power is and where it came from? What about Team JNPR? And what does Sigma plan to do with the data he did manage to obtain?**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	39. No Mercy

_**As usual, reviews first off!**_

 _ **Dragon Man 180: If you haven't been welcomed aboard already, welcome aboard! Glad to see your enjoying the story. Zero, Vile and Neo will all be sorted out in due time. A certain shape shifter may well be in the mix and as for Pyrrha, wait and see!**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: Damn straight he did! Ruby is for hug, not for kill!**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Oh I don't intend to burn myself out, I've just had a drive for writing recently. If I do have a gap between parts it is either a small break or, more likely, assignments for school (Such as this time).**_

 _ **Mochiguy911: It's a fair point but I prefer to write smaller chapters. It makes it much easier to manage and keeps my drive to write going.**_

 _ **Azndrgn: I intend to finish this one first, it is my primary story at the minute. Glad you are enjoying and hope you stick around!**_

 _ **Yiggdrasill: Too many comments to reply to from you mate! Glad to see you like it though! By the way, I'm guessing your name is a reference to the final area from Megaman Zero 2?**_

 _ **On we go!**_

(Insert music: Megaman X Command Mission – Redips 3rd Movement)

What was once a peaceful city centre was now little more than smoking ruins and craters as the battle between the Hunters, Mercury and Emerald raged on still. Despite the additional numbers provided by Bola and Klaymoor, the two Neo Arcadian puppets refused to go quietly.

Jaune and Pyrrha had decided to split them up again, re-engaging Emerald as they ahd before. This time though, she seemed far more dangerous, as if she was merely toying with them the first time they fought.

As the two Hunters sprinted down the ruined street together, Emerald swooped in low behind them and tried to fire an energy bolt at Pyrrha. She leapt over towards Jaune, allowing the shot to impact the ground behind her before Jaune turned at tried to slash at Emerald. She moved aside from his swing before pouncing at the boy.

Jaune quickly raised his shield as Emerald tried to tear it from his arm, using her robotic upgrades to her advantage. The two strained against each other for a few moments before Jaune was thrown aside. Emerald tried to pepper him with ice shards but Jaune's defence proved to be steadfast as he took no damage from the attempt before Pyrrha fired her rifle, forcing Emerald to retreat and to give her boyfriend a chance to recover.

Emerald flew up high in an attempt to find more a more suitable point of attack. Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other before Jaune pointed up. Pyrrha responded by pulling her fist back down and giving a puzzled look. A quick nod was all she got back but it seemed she knew what to do. Team signals like that were very effective for surprise attacks like this one.

Scaling his way up through a ruined skyscraper, Jaune reached a point where he was just above Emerald's height. The green clad girl not noticing him as Pyrrha was doing a fine job of distracting her, using her rifle with great accuracy to ensure she didn't get a moments rest.

He moved back against the wall of the ruined room he was in before running forward and leaping into the air. Pyrrha noticed his shining white armour glinting in the sky and waited for her moment.

As Jaune passed over the top of Emerald, he activated his shielding semblance, encasing himself in a protective light. Pyrrha knew this was the time and focused her polarity on Jaune's armour before pulling her fist down and pulling Jaune in the same direction. Emerald never knew what hit her as Jaune smashed into her back and the two rocketed towards the ground.

 ***KABOOM** *

A pillar of smoke rose up from the impact site as Jaune's semblance wore off and he climbed out of the crater, Pyrrha standing close by. Emerald held her head and tried to shake herself out of the daze the impact had left her in.

"Ha That all you got?" Jaune taunted.

Emerald glared at him which made the boy regret his cockiness, a small sweat drop appearing on his forehead as he nervously laughed before she snarled and threw herself at him again.

As Pyrrha went to help, she heard the sound of something hurtling through the air. In the distance, she saw a large object fly across the sky before hitting one of the buildings. Her priority was Jaune though and she went on after him, hoping that her friends would be able to handle Mercury.

As it turned out though, Mercury was proving to be quite a challenge as Bola was the one who Pyrrha had seen launched across. He rolled off the building and landed on the street below. A large slab of concrete fell after him, threatening to crush him until he disappeared in a puff of smoke, reappearing atop it.

"YEEEEAAAARGH!" Mercury yelled as he kicked down on top of Bola, who just managed to draw a blade in time. Twisting the sword, he caught Mercury's leg and threw him away from himself. Mercury landed a short distance away and sneered at Bola.

The two clashed again. Bola's blade clanging against Mercury's metal legs. Small sparks flew out as they duelled with equal parts speed and grace. Mercury went for a high kick which Bola disappeared around before appearing at the boy's side, swinging his sword to try and decapitate Mercury.

Mercury leant back and let the blade pass over him before carrying the manoeuvrer through into a handstand. As his legs came up to Bola's face, Mercury kicked him twice across his cheeks before wrapping his legs around his neck and flipping back onto his feet. Of course, he brought Bola with him, slamming him into the ground before stomping on his back.

Bola grimaced at the pain before teleporting in a puff of smoke away from Mercury. He didn't make it too far but away from harm for now. Checking his armour, he saw several cracks in it as well as some blood coming from his right shoulder.

"Come on man. Even that Arc kid put up a better fight than this. I expected more from a tournament competitor."

It was then that Mercury saw the large, ominous shadow behind him.

"You mean like this?" Klaymoor boomed before grabbing Mercury by his arms and swinging him around before tossing him through the glass windows of a nearby shop. Stomping over to his partner, he pulled Bola to his feet.

"You alright, partner?"

"Of course, I could've taken him y'know." Bola scoffed.

"Clearly." Klaymoor roleed his eyes as the sound of tinkling glass was heard.

Mercury was climbing out of the destroyed shop. Shaking the glass off himself, he was clearly mad, as evidenced when he punched the shop wall behind him and let it crumble. Bola cracked his knuckles and prepared to engage Mercury once more with his friend beside him.

"Ready for another round, old friend?" Klaymoor asked before energy beams of various colour shot into the sky from the distance.

Bola patted Klaymoor's shoulder. "Think you can handle this one buddy. I'll go help the other two."

"Good hunting." Klaymoor said before Bola vanished in a puff of smoke. "Now, where were we?" Klaymoor asked, punching a fist into his palm.

Pyrrha had now caught up with Jaune and Emerald, the former of the two being heavily outmatched on his own. He raised his sword to strike at Emerald but this left him open and vulnerable. Emerald gave a small smirk as she fired an electric bolt that hit Jaune directly in his chest.

"GAAAAAH!" Jaune screamed as it coursed through his metallic breastplate with ease, forcing him to use more aura to protect all the parts of his body the high voltage shot was reaching. It also resulted in him dropping his weapons, Corcea Mors clanging as it fell from his grasp.

Emerald went over to him, her heels clacking along the ground as she did so before she lifted his chin up with a finger to look at her. Savouring his look of pain, she readied an energy blast in her other hand to end his life.

"Get... your hands... OFF HIM!"

 ***CLANG** *

Pyrrha's shield smacked Emerald in the face, making her let go of Jaune, who fell to the ground, near unconcious. Pyrrha then brought her shield back and began attacking Emerald with a sudden fury. She landed a few quick stabs before leaping over Emerald and pulling the javelin around her neck, trying to choke her.

Emerald proved resilient to this though, most likely due to her upgraded body if Pyrrha had to guess. Seeing the tactic was not working, Pyrrha pulled on the javelin tightly before sweeping her leg out and knocking Emerald off her feet and onto her back. She then spun the javelin in her hand before thrusting down at Emerald. She was met with resistance however, as Emerald caught the javelin with one hand and began to force it back against Pyrrha.

"You will not harm him!" Pyrrha shouted.

Emerald laughed to herself. "Ah so that's what your little outburst was all about. That is very interesting. Even with all the suppression, your spirit still breaks through, you still show feelings for him."

Pyrrha was confused beyond belief at her words. "What are you babbling about? Suppression? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ahahaha! You'll see soon enough." Emerald laughed as she let the spear be thrust towards her, though not before moving aside and letting it embed itself in the dirt beside her.

Before Pyrrha could pull it out, she was blasted by an energy beam from Emerald's hands which gave Emerald the perfect opportunity to get away. Taking a moment to look back down at Pyrrha with a twisted smile, she flew upwards to prepare another attack as Pyrrha went to help Jaune.

Zooming up high, Emerald raised both hands and let the energy form up within them, preparing to unleash as storm down upon the Spartan girl. Her upgraded eyes found their target, the Huntress being to preoccupied with her loved one's well being to notice the danger. Emerald revelled in the anticipation, she could kill her anytime she wanted to. Until a few wisps of smoke caught her attention. Spinning around quickly, she saw Bola balancing on the top of one of the buildings next to her.

"You know, you bad guys would do a lot better if you didn't wait until the last possible moment... just saying."

He then threw three spinning blades at her that spread out from each other. Emerald used the energy bolts to blast the two on the sides into nothingness, then she quickly ducked underneath the middle one which flew harmlessly over her head. Charging her hands up again briefly, she fired a concentrated beam right at Bola. It tore through the building leaving a precise hole in the wall behind him. Emerald gave a small humph as she assumed the newcomer had been incinerated.

"Really now, you'll have to do better than that."

Emerald gasped as she saw Bola on the building opposite from the one she had fired at. Undeterred, she fired again. The same result occurring with her level of power.

"Over here sweetheart!" Bola called, waving as he did so.

Emerald's eye twitched a little as she raised both hands to the sky to try and over charge her shot. Bola would not let her though as she soon found out when he appeared right in front of her in his smoke screen.

"Why don't I just save you the trouble?"

With her arms raised, Emerald had no defence, allowing Bola to throw a punch right in her face. She recoiled from the blow which Bola followed up with repeated blows the to the gut. Emerald doubled over in pain, letting her energy ball float in the air above her before Bola slammed down on it with his blade. The shot engulfed her and exploded, sending Emerald tumbling through the air before she regained her composure in time to see Bola floating in front of her.

Emerald was now shaking in rage, her fists clenched by her sides and her teeth gritted together. She was snarling like an enraged Grimm at this irritating little Huntsman before her.

"I will tear you to shreds for that you insolent little brat!" she cried.

Bola shook his head, tutted and waved a finger at her. "You can't tear apart what you can't see!"

With those words, Bola vanished from sight. Yet, Emerald knew he was still there. She grimaced as an unseen blade cut her right shoulder, a mix of blood and robotic fluid dripping from it. A soft whoosh in the air alerted her to another attack from behind, she raised her arms just in time to hear the invisible weapon hit off them with a high pitched clang.

She was not quick enough to prevent the next cut to her back though. Giving a small yelp of pain as he cut through one of her few remaining areas of flesh. Dabbing the area with one hand, she looked at the crimson blood dripping from it.

" _Those arms aren't so great when they don't hit anything, are they? And if you can't see me, that ain't gonna change."_ Bola's voice taunted.

"Then I shall make you able to be seen." Emerald responded.

As Bola went in for his next surprise attack, Emerald listened for the whoosh of the blades again. Her ears picked up the telltale sound coming from behind her once again. Swing her arm out wide, she missed Bola again.

Her blood however, did not.

A small splatter of the crimson liquid landed on Bola's cheek. It wasn't much but it was enough to reveal his location. Emerald flew towards him and slashed at his chest with a clawed hand. The result was a small armour gash and three bloodied claw marks across Bola's front that made him stick out like a sore thumb from his invisibility. Realising the ruse was no longer effective, Bola reappeared.

"Well so much for that idea." He shrugged.

Emerald did not see the humorous side in this man's antics. She merely smiled at him evilly a she prepared to tear into his flesh, just as he had done to her. She then noticed Bola shivering.

"Man it's cold up here, what's say we take this battle back down to the ground?"

Emerald was baffled. What was this moron talking about? He was so calm in the face of his own demise! It was then Emerald noticed the glowing black aura around her arms.

"Don't worry about getting down, we'll handle that part."

Turning her head, she saw Pyrrha using her semblance on her robotic arms. Emerald gave a quick look of annoyance before she was pulled down to the ground by her arms at almost supersonic speeds, smashing into the dirt with enough force to send out a shock wave.

Pyrrha was catching her breath as using her semblance with such force had made the Huntress quite tired. Bola touched down gently beside her and patted the Spartan on the back.

"You think that was enough?" he asked.

Emerald shot back out of the crater and was hyperventilating with her anger. She stared down at her two enemies with an irrational hatred of them both. She was not going to suffer this any longer.

"It is time to end this." Pyrrha said calmly as she drew her javelin.

"My thoughts exactly, babe." Bola agreed as he drew his blades and prepared himself for the final onslaught.

"YEEEEEAARGGGH!"

Mercury cried out in fury as he launched a kick at Klaymoor. The force with which he landed it was enough to make the windows around them shatter, yet Klaymoor merely stood there, looking down at the robotic leg that rested on his armour plating, silently. He tried several more kicks, each one with immense power and strength, yet they all proved useless against the juggernaut.

"Pant...pant... is... is that all you got big g-OOF!"

A swift right hook from Klaymoor sent Mercury flying backwards, he skidded along the ground, tearing it up as he went before coming to a gentle stop at the far end of the street.

"Less talking... more fighting." Klaymoor said, calmly.

"You asked for it!" Mercury called back.

Sprinting towards Klaymoor again, he prepared his next strike, the giant man eagerly awaiting it. Halfway through his run however, Mercury activated a pair of dash boosters on his legs, increasing his speed drastically and by extension, his momentum. The result was a kick that was nearly three times as powerful as the previous one, powerful enough to end the fight, or so Mercury hoped.

It did seem to work to a degree, forcing Klaymoor back somewhat and leaving him open briefly, his front exposed as his arms flew back. Mercury launched into quick kick combos to try and smash through Klaymoor's armour.

It proved to be too strong however and as Mercury threw another foot forward, it was caught by Klaymoor's giant hand. He then threw Klaymoor over his shoulder, slamming him against the ground with enough strength to go right through the road before picking him up again and whirling him around by his leg like a lasso.

Letting go, Klaymoor threw the boy into the nearest building and dusted his hands off as Mercury slumped to one knee, panting for breath. Klaymoor gave him no chance to recover though as the giant, despite his size, ran across to him and delivered a kick of his own that sent Mercury right through the walls of the building.

"I suggest surrender, little one." Klaymoor offered.

"No chance, I still have a few tricks up my sleeves... well... not sleeves per say."

The front compartments of Mercury's robotic legs opened up to reveal several small missiles. They instantly launched and whistled through the air. Klaymoor crossed his arms over protectively before they impacted and convered him in a mix of smoke and fire.

 ***BOOM** *

"Phew." Mercury let out a sigh of relief as the sound of the explosives reached his ears, a small smile on his face.

Then from out of the smoke, two fists flew out with small flame exhausts behind them. Mercury gasped as they grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him back into a nearby pile of rubble which was obliterated on impact.

He nearly collapsed as the fists returned to their owner. Klaymoor stood forth from the smoke, practically unharmed by the attack. The only difference was that you could see his regular arms that were normally hidden by armour. This was only brief though as he held them out and let the arms he had dispatched reattach themselves to his armour with an audible click.

"My own personal design. You're not the only one with fancy gadgets you know. Not that they will get you very far." Klaymoor said over the near unconscious boy before Emerald crashed down hard beside him, looking just as worse for wear. It was then that Bola appeared beside him.

(Insert music: Megaman Legends 2 – Bola's theme)

"I see you handled that punk with no problem, nice work partner." Bola congratulated.

"Likewise my friend." Klaymoor replied. "By the way, did you manage to free-"

Bola instantly disappeared for a few seconds before reappearing with a shivering Nora Valkyrie, understandable after having just been broken out of a flash freeze.

"You almost forgot, didn't you?" Klaymoor said, rhetorically.

"What? Pfft. No, it was my top priority, I totally didn't forget and just break her out of there a few seconds ago. Nope, not me!" Bola managed to fumble the words out, just as Klaymoor looked on.

"If that is the case then where is-"

Bola disappeared once again as Klaymoor crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. He took a quick look at Nora who was still shivering. He paced over toa nearby shop and came back out with a large pink blanket, wrapping it gently around the girls shoulders.

"T-t-t-thank y-y-y-ou." Nora said with teeth chattering.

Bola then reappeared carrying Ren. He laughed nervously as Klaymoor gave him a judgemental look. Bola scratched his head nervously as Nora immediately embraced Ren, letting him share the blanket.

"Hey guys!" Ruby called as she and Yang ran over to join them. Yang was fairly beaten up but Ruby seemed almost untouched.

"What did we miss?" Yang asked.

"We could ask you the same thing." Bola replied. "You look like you just fought an army of Grimm!"

"Feels that way too! We'll explain to you later." She said.

"In any case." Klaymoor continued. "All are present except for..."

Pyrrha then approached, carrying Jaune over her shoulders, unconscious. He would be alright though, Klaymoor knew how tough Jaune really was despite his wimpy appearance.

"That chick really had it out for him." Bola explained. "Which reminds me."

Bola and Klaymoor both turned their weapons onto Mercury and Emerald.

"We're taking you two in."

Mercury smiled at that before a small laugh came out. It gradually got louder, and louder, until he was practically in hysterics. Emerald didn't laugh but seemed to have the same smile on her face.

"What's so funny?"

"Ha ha ha! You honestly think Sigma would just let you hold us prisoner, with all this tech he gave us? You honestly think he would just let us be captured?"

"You does not have much choice little one." Klaymoor retorted.

Mercury raised his arm up and slammed an open palm down on his chest, as Emerald did the same. Their chest compartments opened to reveal a glowing orange sphere in each of them, contained in a protective casing along with... a countdown timer from 60 seconds!

"Like I said before. Whether we beat you or not, we sill win. Heh heh!"

All eyes went wide before they all turned on the spot and started sprinting away.

Klaymoor quickly picked up Nora and Ren and slung them over his shoulders.

"Run for it!" Bola ordered.

The team ran like they had never run before, leaping over any obstacle that stood in their way. If they couldn't get over it, they simply got Klaymoor to go through it. They would normally feel a little guilty about the damage they were causing but it wouldn't really matter when those timers hit zero.

Pyrrha got her scroll out and contacted Winter. "Winter, are all the civilians out of the city centre?"

"We sounded the alert as soon as the battle started, they are all well clear by now, what's your situation?"

"Not good." Pyrrha responded. "They've got bombs in the city centre, we don't know how powerful they are but we're getting out now. Tell those civilians to take cover just in case."

"We will do, good luck Miss Nikos." Winter replied before terminating the call.

The team had made their way a couple of miles when Klaymoor stopped suddenly. He gently placed Nor and Ren down and wrapped his arms around them, his back to the area where the bombs were.

"Klaymoor, what are you doing?" Ruby asked.

"There is not enough time. 60 seconds... it's not enough."

"We have to keep going, what else can we do?" Pyrrha responded in a panic.

Klaymoor looked her dead serious in the eyes. "Stay behind me."

"Woah, woah, woah!" Bola began. "I know you're a tough guy but those bombs looked pretty powerful. Are you really sure you can tank them?"

"What choice do we have?" Klaymoor said softly.

(Insert music: Jet Force Gemini – Meeting Mizar B)

Emerald and Mercury lay still beside each other as they heard the countdowns beeping towards nought. They turned their heads to look at one another and with a few small tears escaping their eyes. Mercury took Emerald's robotic hand in his as they two closed their eyes and waited.

 _ **3...**_

 _ **2...**_

 _ **1...**_

A flash of white light, accompanied with silence was all that was visible for a few brief milliseconds. Before a nuclear like explosion rocked the continent for miles. A brilliant orange mushroom cloud shot up several miles high above the city.

On the outskirts, terrified civilians gasped and screamed at the sight of their former home being destroyed.

At the resistance base, there was a muffled chatter amongst the soldiers as Winter watched on. Hoping and praying that the teams had made it out okay.

Standing on one of the balconies of Neo Arcadia, overlooking the sight before her stood Xandria and Xevach. They said nothing, merely watching on in silent joy as the glow of the explosion reflected in their eyes.

 _ **City Centre – 10 minutes later**_

Not that it could really be called that any more. Whilst the city had been somewhat trashed by the battle with Emerald and Mercury, now it was practically unrecognisable. The sky was a mix of black and red from the particles lingering in the air and not a single structure was still in one piece, with very few standing at all.

A small pile of debris shuddered a little, small rocks rolling down the side of the pile. It shook again, more frantically this time until finally a bronze armoured hand emerged. Pushing some more rubble aside. Pyrrha pulled herself up, giving a deep gasp for air as she did so. She climbed out of the rubble and pulled her friends up.

Ruby was coughing like nothing else but she seemed alright, Yang followed her, then Nora and Ren. Pyrrha reached back in and pulled Jaune out, relieved that he was still going to be okay. Finally, Bola crawled out.

"Klaymoor? Klaymoor?!" He called, eyes darting around for any sign of his partner.

Ruby then heard a small groan and saw a hand moving around under a larger rubble pile close to the one they were under.

"Over here!" She cried as the team rushed over and began chucking the debris aside.

After several minutes of frantic digging, Klaymoor found the wreckage light enough to pull himself up from, several chunks falling off him as he stood up. His armour no the front was mostly intact but the back was nearly evaporated, the framework still there but only a few metal pieces remaining, along with major burns to his back.

"Haaaaaaa...haaaaaaaa..." Klaymoor panted. "Is everyone alright?"

"Thanks to you." Pyrrha said.

"Dude!" Nora grinned. "You just tanked two freaking nukes! AWESOME!"

"No problem." Klaymoor groaned as he tried to stand but quickly stumbled and fell back to one knee.

"Take it easy big guy, we'll call in a Bullhead. For now let's just rest a bit."

As the team leaned back against some of the ruined city, the shock of the sight before them was beginning to sink in. How could these Neo Arcadians be so ruthless? So lacking in mercy?

"Hope the others are doing better than we are." Ruby thought aloud.

 _ **Schnee HQ**_

Another Schnee guard fell to the ground with a burning gash to his chest. His body was cast aside,, thrown on the pile with his comrades as the sound of metallic footsteps echoed in the empty corridor.

"Oh little snowflaaaaaaaake! Where are yooooooou?" Double called out as he made his way through the halls of the Schnee residence.

"I know you're around here somewhere. Don't make me wait for this please! After all..."

" _ **I'M SO ANXIOUS TO RIP YOU APART!"**_

 _ **Oh boy! Still one loose end that needs tied up! Will Weiss survive Double's assassination attempt? And what about Zero, who is he going to see?**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	40. Path to the Truth

_**The usual reviews first of all.**_

 _ **Asndrgn: Kinda why I put her in tbh.**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Wow, my story got you to make an account? I'm honoured! Didn't think the story merited that!**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: Yup, shit's going down!**_

 _ **Dragon Man 180: Can't say much now, read the chapter to find out!**_

 _ **dANKbLAIZE: You got them! Cookie for you!**_

 _ **A fan: Interesting idea. I am focused on this story now but I may PM you when it's finished so we can work something out!**_

The gentle clacking of heels along the smooth floor, a creak as the wooden door was closed, followed by the clicking of the latch. These were the only sounds to be heard throughout the Schnee family mansion and even then you would b hard pressed to make them out.

Weiss Schnee, the one responsible for these disturbances in the dead of night, clearly did not want anyone to hear her moving around. There was good reason for that of course.

Her father was never going to let her go back to her friends in the resistance and he was a stubborn man who would never change his mind. That was why Weiss was taking it upon herself to sneak out against his will. She had packed everything she would need into a simple yet stylish white suitcase.

She was ready to go, all she was waiting for now was the servant boy she had met. It was his idea after all to go at this time.

Weiss recalled it well. She was in the library at the time, reading some light novel to try and get her mind away from the predicament she was in. Naturally, she was under guard in there as her father still did not trust her to move freely about in the daytime, lest she escaped. Night was the only respite she got from the watchful eyes of the guards as they were stationed on the walls in case of terrorist attacks. The Schnee company had a pretty awful reputation with the Faunus and the protection was requested as a result.

While she was there, she noticed the servant boy making his way towards her. Obviously it would be foolish to make a move in clear sight of the guards so she wasn't really surprised when he went past her and began instead cleaning the shelves with a duster. Obviously even if he did plan to escape with her, he still needed to blend in.

Reaching for a ladder, he climbed up to reach the higher shelves. Weiss couldn't help but keep a watch on him from the corner of her eye. It was thanks to that she noticed him quietly loosening some screws on the top shelf, right above where the guards were standing and filled with heavy books.

Weiss jumped a little when he met her gaze and gave a small wink before pressing down on the shelf which began to creak and wobble.

"Look out!" The servant said, just a little too late for the guards to dodge before they were buried under a mountain of books.

Of course, the ladder fell too, along with the servant boy who flipped off it and landed acrobatically right beside Weiss with a smile on his face. She looked at him in amazement before he quickly slipped her a note, motioning for her to hide it until it was safe to read. She just managed to put it away before one guard burst out of the pile and grabbed the servant by the collar.

"You little moron!" He shouted before throwing him towards the pile of literature. "Get this mess cleaned up, now!"

"Alright, alright! No need to get violent." The servant grumbled, though secretly he was happy with the result.

As the guards continued lecturing the servant boy, Weiss took out the note and read the writing upon it.

 _1:30 AM, OUTSIDE YOUR ROOM, MAKE SURE YOU'RE READY!_

 _:D_

Crushing the note up and tossing it into the fire beside her, Weiss got up and made her way over to the guards.

"If you are quite finished belittling my servants, I would like to retire to my room now. I trust you will be accompanying me on the way there as per my father's instructions."

The guard tightened his grip on his rifle, quietly seething that the servant would get off lightly. He turned to look at him with an expression that said: "This isn't over." To which the servant just gave a cocky wave and stuck his tongue out. Again, the guard could do nothing as long as he was following Weiss.

That led to the situation Weiss now found herself in. Reaching into her pocket (yes, combat skirts have pockets) she took out her scroll and looked at the time.

 _1:30 AM_

Weiss prided herself on being punctual, though it seemed her new friend did not. At least she thought that until she turned around and nearly screamed as she found the servant standing right in front of her.

"SSSSSHHHH." He said, placing a finger over his lips. "Follow me."

The two began to silently make their way through the halls of the mansion. It was a creepy enough place already but the night time setting just emphasised the scare factor of the suits of armour, Grimm head trophies and towering statues that decorated the halls.

"Told you to be ready." The servant whispered. "Were you doubting I'd actually show up?"

"I had a few reservations." Weiss admitted. "You're here now though. Now the only other thing that matters is your plan. We can't just waltz out the main gate."

Weiss noticed that they were heading down through the mansion, moving to places where usually only the workers went to, though Weiss and her family had authorisation to be there regardless.

"Your father prides himself on having the finest security systems in all of Remnant, there really is no way through them, I've tried." The servant explained.

"The one area that let's him down though, is his greed for money. Civilians and visitors get enhanced checks as they go in through the front door. The workers however? They only need basic security checks, provided they come in through the delivery platforms."

"How does this help us, exactly?" Weiss asked.

Pushing open a rusty door, the servant waved his arm over the room they had entered. A station platform with a goods train loaded with supplies, weapons and dust crystals.

"Workers just finished loading it up, now all they do is set the automatic driver up and let the Atlesian Knight guards aboard. I say we hitch a ride, no security checks once it gets moving! Plus we can easily rework the driver programme to stop the train at the resistance base, so you get your promised supplies there as well!"

"What about my father?" Weiss asked.

"It'll cost him somewhere in the region of... 2.7 million Lien!"

"Perfect!" Weiss giggled. "Let's get going!"

Moving carefully along the side of the train, Weiss and the servant attempted to make their way into the drivers cab. Their path was blocked however by the presence of two workers, donning boiler suits and hard hats, standing next to the train. They were not doing anything malicious, just chatting away and they didn't seem to be moving any time soon.

"Any ideas Miss Schnee?"

Weiss looked around for anything she could use. Violence was not an option as these men were innocent and had done nothing to warrant such an attack. She was stumped for a few moments until she saw steam coming out of the side of the train. She followed a pipeline with her eyes until she saw a small joint that was shaking violently, small puffs of steam coming out of it.

Placing a glyph on it, she prepared her move, though not before telling the servant to be ready to run.

Pulling the pipe out, a huge cloud of steam whistled out and engulfed the two workers who both started coughing and spluttering, caught unaware by the sudden distraction.

"That bloody cooling tube has come loose again! I can't see a thing!" one cried.

"Now's our chance, go!"

Moving as lightly as their feet would allow them, Weiss and the servant hopped aboard the car while the steam still covered the platform. They intended to make their way along to the drivers cab but the steam was dissipating now and they would be spotted before they could reach it!

Cursing their luck, Weiss motioned for the servant to follow her as they made their way instead to the nearest dust car. It was open topped with the crystals simply tossed in there to be sorted out later. The servant pinched his nose, held his breath and cannonballed into the pile, hiding himself underneath the crystals. Rolling her eyes, Weiss calmly followed and slowly submerged herself just underneath them so she was still able to hear what was going on.

"Yo Jimmy!" One of the workers called. "You got that pipe fixed yet?"

"Just about boss! All I gotta do is tighten this up a bit more!"

"Well hurry it up! Y'know how the boss gets when his shipments are late!" 

"Yeah, yeah, I know the old bastard gets cranky! He really needs to chill out! It's not like he doesn't have enough money anyway!"

"Maybe he has too much! They do say money can't buy happiness!"

"I'll take some of his hands if he don't want it!"

"HAHAHA!"

The laughter soon faded as Weiss heard the sounds of heavy boots walking away from the train.

 _ **WOOOOOOOOOOO!**_

A loud whistle blew and the train shuddered as it slowly began leaving the station. The clicking of the wheels along the tracks getting louder and the rhythm getting more fast paced.

The cold night air blowing against Weiss face let the two know that they were out of the underground station and were proceeding speedily along the tracks to freedom. Regardless, the servant insisted they remain hidden until he was certain the coast was clear.

 _ **10 minutes later**_

"Can we get out of here now?" Weiss asked, irritated. "As much as I don't want to be caught, I'd rather not freeze in here while doing so."

The servant didn't respond, instead checking his scroll with a puzzled look on his face.

"Did you hear me?" Weiss asked.

"..."

"Fine, I'm going to see what's happening."

Weiss moved to get out but felt the servant grab a hold of her arm.

"Something's not right here." He said.

"What do you mean?"

"This train has guard robots on it, right? They're programmed to do routine patrols every half hour or so. So why then have we not heard the first patrol passing by yet? They're robots, they don't make simple mistakes like that."

"We were going to reprogramme them anyway." Weiss replied. "Maybe someone just beat us to the punch and saved us the trouble."

"That's what worries me." The servant mumbled.

The two remained silent for the next few moments, neither quite sure how to approach the situation now. Then, from nowhere, came a small sound. A simple:

 _ **BEEP**_

 _ **BEEP**_

 _ **BEEP**_

"Weiss?"

"Yes?"

"Is your scroll going off?"

Weiss suddenly tightened up. "I... I thought it was yours..."

 _ **BEEP**_

 _ **BEEP**_

 _ **BEEP**_

 _ **BEEPBEEPBEEP**_

"OUT! NOW!" Weiss called.

The two scrambled up the ladder and ran to the car behind just as the dust cart exploded in a brilliant storm of colour and fire. They skidded along the roof of one of the baggage cars that was holding weapons.

"You okay?" The servant called.

"What the hell was that?" Weiss cried.

"Maybe it was a terrorist trap?" The servant hypothesised as he helped Weiss to her feet. The two watched the cart burn for a while, saying nothing until the servant broke the silence.

"Well, on the bright side, your Dad just lost a whole heap of money and potential customers. So thank you, whoever you are, for pissing off Weiss' father!

A sudden thud of metallic feet on the roof of the car behind them made the two jump and turn suddenly. Weiss gasped and began to visibly pale at the sight of the figure before her.

Donning yellow robotic armour with a familiar purple liquid inside him and brandishing a purple wrist blade, Double began to slowly, menacingly approach them.

"Heh heh heh! You're welcome!" He grinned before lunging at Weiss.

 _ **Forest Near Vile's Base**_

A crack of thunder rumbled, accompanied by the flash of lightning that always partnered it. It served little benefit right now, only to signify the coming rain and to illuminate the ruins of Vile's base where, just a few hours ago, he had engaged X in battle once again.

This time however, it had gone very differently.

X's words had not been forgotten by the purple Reploid. He had been thinking about them constantly after he had gone to get Neo out of the place. He had found her unconscious after taking one hell of a beating from X earlier. It was only now, as he placed her inside a small cave to shelter from the rain that another thought came to his head.

Why had he even bothered?

His whole life, or lives rather, Vile had though of nothing but himself and his own goals. Every alliance he had made, everyone he had worked for, they had all been a means to an end. That being the end of X and his confirmation as the superior Reploid. So why was it that this girl, who he had only recently met, had made him come back to ensure her safety.

He sat on a rock, letting the rain fall against his head as he pondered the conundrum. Keeping a watchful eye on his unconscious partner. He did have to admit, their relationship had been a rather different one. More than being partners, Neo seemed to treat Vile like an older brother of sorts. He thought back to the times not so long ago, back when Cinder was in charge.

Neo would follow him around a lot of the time, though he took little notice of her. She didn't seem to annoy him, she was just constantly there. In fact, there were times when she was actually really nice to him. She helped him prepare for missions by loading his weapons, putting co-ordinates onto his systems, that sort of thing.

He did remember warming up to her a little bit as well. Laughing at her jokes, be they in sign language or pranks played on White Fang members. He could remember after one mission where she had such a proud look on her face after defeating an Ursa that had gone rampant in the storage rooms. She looked up at him with sweet eyes and he ruffled her hair, much to her delight.

Before today he would have just ignored all this and passed it off as just her doing it for the sake of it, now he was not so sure.

He continued to think, one hand placed atop the other under his chin, the only sound accompanying him being the thunder and the patter of raindrops on his helmet. Then, from nearby, came a sound.

 ***STOMP***

 ***STOMP***

The rhythmic clanking of metal feet coming towards him, slowly and deliberately, as if the owner was wanting to make their presence known.

Vile barely moved at all, simply turning his head slightly to see another Reploid standing a few feet away from him. The bright red and white armour with long blonde hair flowing in the wind. Zero said nothing but watched Vile, waiting for his move.

"Come to finish us off in person, did you?" Vile asked.

Zero didn't respond.

Vile let out a deep sigh. "Oh well, can't say I didn't expect this to happen. Do me a favour though, make it quick, alright? I mean I don't really give a damn but... her? Nah, she's been through enough."

Zero took a brief glance at the unconscious Neo before looking back at Vile, still not moving. Vile seemed surprised by this, he remained on edge but could see Zero wasn't going to make any threatening moves, at least not yet.

"Wait. You're not here from the Council? You aren't here to tie up the loose ends?" Vile asked.

Zero shook his head. "They don't even know I'm here. At least I hope they don't. They still think I'm off training somewhere in Neo Arcadia."

"Then why are you..."

Zero sat down on the grass beside Vile, gathering his thoughts. He absent mindedly pulled a handful of the grass up and let it fall through his hands, watching it float gently away in the breeze as it fell.

"It's funny." He began. "How one of the few people I can trust is one of my greatest enemies."

Vile gave a small chuckle. "I'm kind of in the same boat."

"I don't really remember much." Zero continued. "And what little I do, I can't even be sure is true or not. The council they... they woke me up... filled my head with a bunch of stuff and I don't even know if it all happened or not. I could go to X but the council would see me coming a mile away. The only one who has any knowledge of the truth and might help me, even if it is a long shot, is you."

Vile laughed again. Not an evil or malicious laugh but one of genuine humour, placing a hand on his chest as the laughter pulled at some of his wounds.

"8000 years I've been around. I've seen and done a lot of weird and crazy shit but I can honestly say, I never though I'd see you come to me for help. And you expect me to actually help? After you killed me like five times?"

Zero shrugged. "Don't have a lot of choice."

Vile threw his hands up in the air. "Me neither. Can't run from you or fight you, you'd cut me down no problem. The Council won't take me back either so..."

Vile slapped a hand down on Zero's shoulder, the red Reploid looking at it with confusion.

"...what's on your mind?" Vile asked.

"I want to know the truth." Zero explained in simple terms. "Who I am, at least as far as you know."

"Well what have you been told? Or, sorry, what have you had forcefully implanted into your memory banks?"

Zero didn't appreciate the call back to when he had been recovered. Getting your memory implanted artificially was not the most pleasant experience in the world, it must be said. Regardless, he answered Vile's question.

"I can remember a few battles, usually against the so called Mavericks. Nothing but skirmishes though, no big battles or anything like that. From what I recall, the world was pretty peaceful."

Vile stifled a laugh at that suggestion, a peaceful world? No chance.

"What about X?" Vile asked, equally as curious about this part.

Zero thought for a moment. "My memory circuits tell me that he was a hero who betrayed humanity and turned Maverick. He escaped Xandria's grasp and I was ordered to hunt him ever since but..."

"You know that's not right, don't you?" Vile said.

"I do, deep down, but I need proof from someone else."

Vile cracked his fingers. "Welp, as luck would have it, I can tell you the truth. At least as far back as I can. I don't really know your whole origin story thing and, fair warning, you may not like what you hear."

"Tell me what you can."

Vile took a deep breath as he prepared to tell the tale.

"You did work for the Maverick Hunter's, okay? They didn't lie to you about that part. What they probably didn't let you know, is that you worked with me and X, initially anyway."

Already there were lies starting to come through, though Zero simply nodded as he began trying to recall the true memories that were buried within his memory banks.

"Long story short, I went Maverick and you and X were tasked with hunting me down along with-"

"Sigma." Zero finished.

"It's all coming back now isn't it? You remember the other council members for what they truly are, don't you?"

"They... they hurt my friends... those I cared for and I... I was tasked to hunt them." Zero concluded.

"Bingo!" Vile snapped his fingers. "You are a Hunter, always have been. They just switched the roles around and told you that was fact."

The true memories started to come back. His first sacrifice against Vile. Being rebuilt by Sigma and fighting X. The Doppler incident with Bit and Byte, dying at Sigma's hand in the Eurasia incident, his resurrection due to the Nightmare and Gate.

 _ **(EMERGENCY AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, we all know X6's story is bullshit. I'm just casually passing over the ridiculous "I hid myself while I repaired myself" thing and we shall never speak of it again. Agreed?)**_

The Jakob incident with Lumine and even the other later events such as setting up Neo Arcadia and the battle with Xevach and Xandria. He could remember it all but was it the real truth? He had been lied to before, who was to say Vile wasn't doing the same?

"How can I be sure you're not lying to me?" Zero asked. "I remember fighting you so often, it would make perfect sense for you to try and trick me given our past."

"Weeeeeeeell... you have a good point there." Vile admitted. "You can't be sure I'm telling the truth. I know I'm telling the truth, whether you believe me or not is entirely up to your own judgement."

"Then let me test it." Zero suggested. "Let me ask you one more question."

"Alright, shoot." Vile agreed.

"Myself and X... were we... friends?"

Vile stood still in thought. Zero had chosen his question well, regardless of what answer Vile gave, it would be obvious if he was lying to him and Zero could easily judge his previous word's from this answer. So Vile did the only thing he could... he told the truth.

"You and X... were like nothing I've seen before. You were partners, friends, almost like brothers. It didn't matter that you were a special, S-Class Hunter while he was a lowly B-Class. You didn't care about rank or anything like that. The bond you two formed, the friendship you built, it was what carried you two through all the challenges you faced. I couldn't beat you, Sigma couldn't, no one could."

Zero smiled as he realised Vile had been telling him the truth all along. Vile just laughed to himself quietly.

"Y'know it's... it's funny. I never really understood, no matter how many times I fought you, I could never understand what made him so special. Now I am starting to realise what made him so unique and the thing is, I'm starting to realise, that despite being such polar opposites of each other, deep down..."

Vile took anther look at Neo, one of the few people he had realised he actually cared about.

"I'm not really that different from him after all..."

The silence of realisation prevailed for a few more moments as the thoughts of each Reploid began to sink in to their respective selves. Eventually, Zero stood up and began walking away.

"So, you know the truth, what are you going to with it?" Vile asked.

"I'm going to make things right." Zero answered simply.

As his pacing feet became quieter and quieter as he walked off to his next destination, Vile watched him go before he picked up Neo and began walking the opposite way. Gently, Vile activated his jet boosters and ascended into the sky. He turned around and took one last look at the destroyed fortress, then a look at the resistance base in the distance.

"Then maybe... I will to." He softly said before flying away.

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	41. A Naughty Boy

_**SparktheDog: HOLY SHIT! IS THAT A MOTHERFUCKING JOJO REFERENCE?**_

 _ **Gravenimage: Not quite reunion time yet, just got one more thing to clear up!**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: Yup, Ruby may be trusting but she will definitely be hesitant about the Reploid who killed her friend!**_

 _ **Pea Brain Writer: Indeed, the change of plot it forced on the Zero series is about the only thing I am grateful for. Granted it's not the worst X game ever (X7 holds that title) but what makes me hate it more is how lazy it was, at least X7 was a bad game that they tried to make good. Not to mention that it was made as a cash grab behind Inafune's back! Then again, that also led to X8 which is arguably my favourite in the series!**_

 _ **Ultiamte Kuuga: All in good time.**_

 _ **Levi Xavier: SSSSSHHHH! Don't spoil it! :D**_

 _ **Dragon Man 180: I can guarantee that this is not the last we shall see of Vile or Neo for that matter. They just have a few things to sort out first, then the ass kicking can begin!**_

 _ **DukesofBoston: Welcome to the story friend! As for your query, you have joined the story at a perfect time for that! ;)**_

 _ **On we go!**_

 _ **(Insert music: Megman X4 – Jello Man)**_

As the train thundered along the tracks, Weiss and the servant were sprinting through the train cars as fast as they could, desperate to get away from their attacker. Weiss used her semblance to practically tear the doors off their hinges in her effort to get away.

There was every chance she could fight this monster but the scars from the battle of Beacon still affected her. She could still vividly remember the brutal carnage as he cut down the Atlesian soldiers she was helping, especially the commander who she could still see in her memory. His twitching form as Double's blade pierced his skull and the vicious red eyes the Reploid had looked at her with.

"So...what's the plan?" The servant called as he tried to keep up with Weiss.

"Run!" She replied.

"And when we run out of train cars to run through?" He continued.

"I didn't plan that far ahead!" Weiss admitted.

"Good to know!"

For such a situation, the servant still seemed rather chipper about the whole thing. He almost seemed to be enjoying it!

A small explosion rocked the car behind them as Double tore his way through the side of one of the walls before swinging in from the roof.

"Hahaha! Keep on running!" He jeered. "I love a good chase!"

Pulling the door open, Weiss and the servant ran to the next car. It was designed for passengers but of course, no one was on board aside from them. Weiss activated her semblance on the door and held it shut with a black glyph.

"Our best chance is to deceive him, hide!" Weiss ordered.

"Really? I'm pretty sure we can take him and-WOAH!"

The servant was interrupted by Weiss forcing him under on of the tables with her semblance while she found and empty baggage store and closed the door quietly behind her.

 _ **THUD!**_

…

 _ **THUD!**_

Weiss then felt a rush of air through the small gaps in her hiding spot as the metal door was torn from it's hinges and skidded off down the aisle, followed by the heavy clanks of Double's metallic footsteps.

"Oh Weeeeiiiis! Where are yooooooooou?" He called.

Weiss held her breath as Double came very close to the store. He passed over it and instead began looking around a small bar area for passengers in the car. Double ignited an energy blade and Weiss flinched as he cut through the bar top and began smashing bottles and glasses aside.

"I'm going to find you eventually y'know. May as well enjoy this while I can!"

Double now made his way along each table and pulled them off their anchorings on the floor, casually tossing them aside as he did so. Weiss let out a small gasp as she realised Double was getting perilously close to where the servant was hiding.

"Come out come out wherever you are!"

Ripping aside one more table, Double grinned as he found the servant's hiding spot. Surprisingly, the boy seemed to be overly confident as Double approached, placing his hands on his hips and looking very annoyed.

"Do you mind? This table is occupied!"

Weiss seized the initiative, springing from her hiding spot, she activated her semblance on all the other objects in the train car. Gathering them together, she then flung them at Double, who was promptly pushed back to the opposite end of the carriage.

Weiss grabbed her friend by the hand and practically dragged him to his feet as they made their escape, doubling back the way they had come.

"Y'know, we could try fighting him! I'm just saying!" The servant called.

Weiss ignored him as they ran back through the train. Suddenly, the ceiling gave way and Double landed directly in front of them, blocking their path of escape. He sneered at them with his usual insane smile and prepared to strike Weiss down once and for all.

He would have to had the servant not leapt in and roundhouse kicked Double in the face, allowing Weiss the opportunity to back off and activate another glyph. This one placed a strong force above Double, pushing him into the train floor so hard that it bluckled under the pressure! Double tried to stand back up but another Glyph from Weiss threw large weapons crates on top of him that she held tight around him like a prison before the two ran off again.

Double shook his head as he threw the crates off himself. "Come back here!"

Weiss and the servant ran on, only skidding to a halt as they realised they had run to the back end of the train.

"Dead end." The servant pointed out. "What now?"

Weiss looked down to he belt with uncertainty, before a slightly shaking hand was placed upon her rapier. Slowly, she drew it from the sheath, looking at it's glistening edge. With a small nod to herself, she held the weapon tightly in her hand.

To her surprise, the servant was really excited, punching the air in front of himself. "Aw yeah! We fight him!"

"No!" Weiss snapped, making her friend stop his actions completely. "Not we. I will fight him. You stay here."

"Wait what?! Look, you're a skilled fighter and all but you can't be seriously thinking of taking him on by yourself? We only stand a chance if we fight him together!"

Weiss shook her head. "I'm not losing anyone else to them."

She spun the chamber on her revolver hilt, the fast clicking echoing around the train car before she looked up at the empty blackness that she could see through the door, the door that he would be coming through any moment now.

Weiss took a deep breath in and out, then she readied herself into her combat pose. Her posture was perfect, her weapon was primed and her aura was high. So why then did she feel like this was a fight she wouldn't win?

"No, don't think like that!" She told herself. "You're a Huntress, you can do this!"

The sound of rhythmic metal footsteps could be heard from down the corridor, gradually getting ever louder as they came closer and closer. Weiss narrowed her gaze and was fixated upon the path that her opponent would be entering through. The footsteps came closer and closer before they stopped completely.

Weiss raised an eyebrow in confusion. Cautiously, she stepped forward, her heels echoing across the train car as she moved closer to the doorway. Her rapier was still held in front of herself, ready to strike instantly.

Then, she thought she spotted some movement to her left side. Turning her head to see what it was, all she saw was a metallic fist zooming towards her face! Double smashed through the side of the train car and pinned Weiss against the other wall, forcing her to drop her rapier.

Weiss struggled to get free but Double lifted her off her feet by her neck, keeping her in place with his arm against her airway. Weiss kicked at thin air and desperately tried to pry Double's arm off her as she was slowly choked but it was no use.

"Well that was fun!" Double giggled. "I'll admit, I really wanted to kill you back at Beacon, Weiss. And it turns out I could have! We already got what we needed from you and your friends during that battle. With Sigma getting the last of what we need, you are not required any more!"

Weiss almost managed to struggle free but Double increased the power in his arm and nearly crushed her airway! Weiss gagged as the pressure grew on her strained lungs, her pupils shrinking as she did so.

"Then again, it's just as well I was stopped. I really have enjoyed our little game, Miss Schnee. While tracking you down, I fought Grimm, Huntsmen and your guards, and let me tell you, I enjoyed every second of it. But the anticipation of finally riding myself of you was well worth it."

Double activated his purple energy blade, the glow illuminating the terrified look on Weiss' face.

"I'm going to savour this moment, Miss Schnee. I'm going to make you squirm and scream before you die. Good bye, Weiss Schnee!"

The blade was edged ever closer as Double brought his weapon towards Weiss' face. He was going for her eyes first of all. She tried to mover her head back as far as she could, feeling the heat of the energy weapon against her face. Double was almost twitching in eagerness and excitement at the thought of the kill.

Then...

 ***PEW** *

"GAAAAAAAH!"

Double screamed in pain and dropped Weiss, letting the heiress fall to the floor as she grabbed her throat and gasped for breath.

Double held a hand to the back of hiss neck. Wisps of smoke came from it as the metal covering melted a little. Moving the hand off and examining the damage, Double saw the molten metal become solid in his hand again as both he and Weiss looked at where the shot had come from.

There, stood facing them was the servant who had come out of hiding, and in his hand was a smoking pistol. It was black and white in colour with a glowing red crystal in the barrel, similar to X's buster. Holding his other hand out, a second pistol appeared from seemingly nowhere in a flash of light.

"Wait... those guns... it's you isn't it?" Double snarled.

"Surprised to see me again?" The servant smirked.

"Again?" Weiss was confused.

"I'll gut you for that you little shit!" Double roared.

"You can try." The servant responded.

Double was about to strike when fiery dust blast exploded behind him, knocking the Reploid off his feet. Slowly, Weiss got back on to her feet, keeping her rapier pointed at Double as both she and her friend regrouped.

"You shouldn't have spent so much time showing off, Double. Now there are two of us for you to deal with!" Weiss said.

Double pushed himself back onto his feet. His blades tearing through the floor as he did so, leaving red hot gashes across the train.

"Good! Twice as much fun for me then!"

(Insert music: Megaman X8 – Maverick Intrusion Crabz-Y (Mid-Boss theme))

Double made the first strike, dashing at the servant and trying to stab him through the head. The servant rolled underneath the attack and stood back up behind Double, who tried to slash behind himself with his other blade. His strike was ducked under and Weiss followed up with a strike to Double's extended arm. It did little damage but was enough to make Double withdraw his arm and allow her friend to get back into fighting position.

The sadistic Reploid now engaged Weiss. Though he may have had the advantage earlier, Weiss had grown in confidence with the arrival of her new ally. It clearly showed as Double slashed away at her furiously but hit nothing. Weiss moved only when necessary and parried any strikes that did hit her blade, she conserved her energy while Double was attacking like a berserk Grimm.

It was only a matter of time before he left an opening in his guard. A twin bladed strike outwards left his chest exposed. Weiss thrust her sword forward and struck Double on the joint of his right arm. A small spark of electricity forced them to part and Double examined the sparking injury.

"You can tell a lot about their opponent just by examining them closely. I've seen at least twenty weak spots on you, that was number eleven."

Double growled at Weiss before another blaster shot hit him in the back of his leg.

"Which one was that?" The servant boasted.

"Number four." Weiss responded.

"Very funny." Double snarled. "But I'm not done yet!"

In a flash, he swung his blade at Weiss, forcing her to block and preventing her from interrupting his next move. With a sweep of his feet, he knocked Weiss onto her back. The servant fired a shot but Double grabbed his arm and pushed the gun aside, the shot whizzing past his head and impacting on the wall behind him. Double then flung the servant up through the hole he had made in the ceiling earlier before jumping up to finish him off.

The servant tumbled around as the speed of the train made getting back up difficult. Just before tumbling off the edge onto the tracks below, he grabbed a hold of a small protruding vent on the roof and used it to steady himself. Slowly trying to get back up, he saw Double ready and waiting for him, looking down with joy at the situation the boy was now in.

"I've been waiting a long time for this, you loud mouthed brat!"

Following Double, Weiss leapt onto the roof of the train with her weapon ready. Looking around, she saw double standing over the servant with his blade activated, moving it ever closer to the small vent he was holding on to.

Weiss sprinted as quickly as she could to the other end, forcing her way through the storm like wind that pushed her back. She was so close, just a few more seconds.

A few more seconds she wouldn't get.

"End of the line!"

Double swiped his arm across and the vent flew off like paper in the breeze. With nothing to hold on to, the servant flew off with it. Giving a yell as he bounced over the side that got quieter and softer in the distance.

"NO!" Weiss screamed.

Double chuckled to himself, his shoulder's heaving up and down as he did so before turning back to Weiss, who stared off into the distance behind him in disbelief.

"One down... one to go." Double said as he cracked his neck and advanced on Weiss again.

A tear rolled down her cheek as Double made ready to strike her down. Wiping it aside, she stood back up and aimed her rapier at Double in preparation for battle. Weiss stood firm, unexpectedly strong in the presence of the Reploid who had been haunting her all this time.

"Going to run away again, Lady Schnee?" Double asked rhetorically.

Weiss shook her head. "Not this time, not any more."

"Your little friend is gone, you have no one left to protect you!"

"True." Weiss replied. "But my friend taught me one important thing. For that short time that I knew him, he showed me how strong he was. Not for himself, but for others around him. He took it upon himself to go against my fathers will, risk his own life to protect me and give everything he had to do the right thing. Yet through all that, he was never afraid."

"He never feared you Double, and he showed me that I have no reason to either. You may talk big and scary, but that's all you do!"

"Is that so?" Double asked. "You are no longer afraid, huh?"

"Correct, not any more." Weiss proclaimed.

Double shrugged. "Brave or scared, doesn't matter either way. You're still going to die!"

Leaping into the air, Double froze momentarily, angling his body so he pointed towards the ground blade first.

"KIBA FLASH!" He shouted before stabbing down at Weiss from above.

The heiress used a glyph to push herself backwards, skidding to a halt with Double landing a few feet in front of where she now stood. His blade had pierced through the roof which he quickly withdrew before dashing at Weiss like a bullet. She leapt over the top of him, gaining a quick slash to his head as she did so.

The purple swords were mere inches from Weiss' chest as she moved back just enough. Swinging her blade up, she knocked Double's arms above his head and thrust her blade into his gut, though not before activating the red chamber on her revolver attachment. A flash of fire engulfed the impact point, knocking them both back from each other.

Using the distance to her advantage, Weiss fired off two ice projectiles aimed at Double's arms. As soon as they made contact, the sound of cracking ice could be heard as the sub-zero bullets formed their freezing prisons around Double's blades. The increase in weight made Double drop his arms to his sides.

"Nice try, kid!" Double congratulated before smashing the ice covers against each other.

They shattered into razor sharp fragments which he then threw straight back at Weiss! Blocking them with her rapier in the nick of time, Double threw himself at Weiss and was practically sitting on top of her so she could not move as he tried to stab Weiss through her head.

Rather than struggling, she activated a glyph on Double that pushed him up and off her. It only left him airborne for a split second but it was enough for Weiss to leap back to her feet before the Reploid came back down, his weight being enough to fall back inside the train car.

Unfortunately, he managed to get a hand to Weiss' leg and pull her down with him. The two landed back inside the train with a few pieces of the thin metal roof falling around them.

Weiss was somewhat dazed but Double got straight back up and leapt to the opposite end of the room. His chest started glowing with a bright blue energy as Weiss had just got back on her feet.

"No more games!" Double proclaimed, raising his arms above his head. "HRRRRGH! HERE!"

Throwing his arms back down, a wave of energy, approximately the size and width of the train car shot forward, tearing up anything that stood in it's path and vaporising several small objects that it came across.

Weiss never stood a chance. With nowhere to dodge, she was hit by the full force of the attack. The heiress was thrown into the air slightly before slamming back down with smoking burns all over herself and her aura reserves severely depleted.

Her form shaking, Weiss leant on her rapier, impaled into the ground for support as she tried to fight again. She knew it was fruitless however as her weakened arms gave way under her own weight and she fell back down again with a grunt.

Looking up, she saw Double was panting as well. That last attack seemed to have taken a lot out of him, though she could do little to capitalise on it now. Double readied a final strike with his arm blade.

"I'll give you credit. You have some skill forcing me to use that attack, it damn near killed me doing so but, God was it worth it! Game over, Weiss Schnee!"

Double swung his blade down to decapitate Weiss. Only to feel a set of cold, steel claws pushing against his arm.

"What the hell?"

Looking ahead, he saw a large, round, white metal body with a red crystal in it. Looking much further up, he saw the thing blocking him was a giant, panda like robot with three large blades on each arm, one set of which was preventing him from killing Weiss right now.

Double gave a nervous grin as he realised this robot was about three times his size and presumably much stronger.

Pushing Double's arm back, the panda robot punched him with such force that he was flung back, smashing through the doors of three other cars before slamming his head into a fuel container car, leaving a sizeable dent in it. Double rubbed his head before opening his eyes to see the panda robot watching him from the next car across.

Using it's claws, it severed the link between the fuel car and the main train, letting it roll back a bit before pointing one of it's arms at the fuel container.

"Sorry to see you go, Double." It said in a warm and friendly voice. "It's been a _blast_."

As soon as he that sentence, the panda robot fired a green missile out of it's arm which whistled up into the air before turning back around and exploding on the fuel tank.

The result was spectacular as red hot pieces of metal and droplets of burning gasoline rained down across the railway tracks behind them as the train carried on it's way with it's cargo significantly lightened.

Double slammed his fist against the ground in rage, watching as the train went off into the distance while the flaming wreckage burned around him. The explosion had taken it's toll, his armour was cracked and purple fluid leaked out in a few places, not to mention most of the left side of his face was burned off as well, revealing the grey robotic inner working that lay beneath.

"GRRRR! I had her god dammit! I had her!" He roared, taking out his anger on some scrap metal that he began tearing to shreds with his bare hands.

His anger slowly subsiding, he took a few deep breaths before he began to teleport back to Neo Arcadia.

"Your going to pay for that, prototype." He vowed before disappearing in a flash of light.

 _ **Back on the train**_

Weiss leaned back against one of the few walls that was still intact, catching her breath and regaining some of her aura as best she could. What had happened was a bit of a blur. She remembered Double attacking her but... something had stopped him. She wasn't sure what until she heard the thud of footsteps once again. Fearing it was Double, she struggled to her feet and tried to raise her sword.

"Relax, it's only me." The panda robot said before approaching from the darkness so Weiss could see him.

Of course, that did little to make her clam down. She didn't know who this was, even if he had taken Double on, he could still be an enemy. Keeping her rapier pointed at him, the panda robot seemed confused.

"What's with the hostilities. Don't you recognise m-"

The panda had stopped mid sentence to look at his own clawed hand, twisting it around to inspect it fully.

"Oh right, the giant robot form. Let me just get rid of that."

A series of zeros and ones began circling the panda robot, bathing his body in a bright green glow which then began to morph into another form. It became much smaller and humanoid.

When the glow subsided, Weiss beheld the same ginger haired, green eyed servant she had escaped with. This time however, he was wearing a black and grey body armour like X's with red highlights all over it. His hair was protruding out of the back of a black and red helmet with large white earpieces that extended above his helmet and a blue crystal was also to be found in his forehead area as well as his chest. The back of his armour had a pair of small silver wings, folded downwards as they were not in use.

Weiss was amazed. "It's you! But... but how? I saw Double throw you over the side! And how did you turn into that thing? Is it your semblance?"

Those were just a few of the questions Weiss had before the servant held up a hand to stop her.

"I think it's best if I explain everything to you and your friends all together. Just take it easy until we get back to the resistance base." He said, sitting down beside Weiss who still looked over him in amazement.

"Can you at least tell me what your real name is?" Weiss asked.

The servant twirled the two pistols in his hands before striking a pose with them held across his chest.

"I'm Axl!" He announced.

 _ **YEAH BOI! HE'S BACK!**_

 _ **So yeah, Axl is alive and well and on his way to meet X and the RWBY cast at the resistance base.**_

 _ **What will X make of his old friend being alive? What information can Axl giveto them about Neo Arcadia? And what will Zero and Vile's next moves be?**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	42. Lust for Revenge

_**All right, time to cool off again from the fight scenes, at least for a little bit. Time for reviews!**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: Glad to see you were so surprised by the reveal! It was what I was aiming for after all! As for Raven, not in this story, but I have a sequel in the works if you guys are up for it? She may well appear then!**_

 _ **SparktheDog: Mate, you have great music taste, I'd love to use it for that or something similar!**_

 _ **R98: In response to all your comments: Welcome to the story!**_

 _ **Vc1500: PRAISE!**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: Yup, you didn't think Axl would be killed so easily, did ya?**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: I'd prepare yourself for that if I were you!**_

 _ **MetalSonic30: You thought there would be a Command Mission character next... BUT IT WAS ME, DIO!**_

 _ **Dragon Man 180: Well, in my mind, Axl was trying to keep himself undercover so long as Double attacked. He only revealed himself when Weiss really needed his help. Plus his plan was to link up with X anyway, not go solo against Neo Arcadia.**_

 _ **Onwards!**_

A robotic wail echoed across the plains, it's pitch and volume slowly dropping as the Harin Reaverbots succumbed to the wound in it's back from Yastsuhashi's blade. It's legs gave way underneath it's own weight and a small puff of dirt arose from the mass landing on the ground.

Removing the sword, Yastuhashi placed it back into it's sheath as a Juraid approached him, it's arms spinning wildly to strike him down. Yatsuhashi remained still on the Harin's lifeless shell, not reacting to the imminent danger approaching.

 ***BANG** *

A single gunshot was heard and the sound of metal tearing as the bullet travelled straight through the Juraid's head. It raised it's arms in surprise at the attack before toppling onto it's side and skidding across the earth. Finally coming to a rest, it lay in a heap before the glow from it's eyes faded and the Reaverbot was defeated.

"You should be more aware of your surroundings my friend!" Fox called to Yatsuhashi, his gun blades smoking.

"I saw him coming. Thought I would leave that one for you, seeing as I've been doing most of the work."

Fox rolled his blank eyes. "Very funny. I may be blind but I can bet you have a stupid smug grin on your face after that."

Yatsuhashi did indeed have a stupid smug grin on his face. Team CFVY had bonded enough over the years that pokes at each other like that did not strain their friendship. In fact, Fox welcomed the chance to practice humility at his lack of sight since it did not affect him in battle. His other senses more than made up for that handicap.

Speaking of Team CFVY, the other two members of Velvet and Coco were pacing behind their comrades. They walked on at a leisurely pace, letting them take of any threats in the surrounding area while the two girls chatted. Coco still had her weapon drawn, with her minigun resting over her shoulder despite it's size. Velvet meanwhile, had something different in mind.

"So, what's the deal with this 'experiment' you want to try?" Coco asked as she shot down a Bal Kacche Moth without even moving her minigun off her shoulder or looking at it! The small Reaverbot tumbling to the ground before bursting into flames.

Velvet got her camera out which, despite initial interpretations, was her weapon. She quickly gave it a check over to ensure it was working and that she had the right picture on it. Looking over her shoulder, Coco could see that picture she had chosen was of X. Not his buster, X as a whole with a slightly bewildered expression on his face. Clearly Velvet had not explained why she was taking his picture.

"Well, you know how I can mimic other peoples weapons with hard light?" The bunny girl began.

"Uh-huh." Coco nodded.

"I've already found out that I can't mimic people but I think I may be able to mimic X to a certain degree. He is metal after all and some of the materials he is made from are used in the weapons we use. In theory, I should be able to make a hard light copy of him and command it the same way I do with other weapons."

"Huh... Neat." Coco said simply.

Placing the camera box on the holster on her back, Velvet began her test. First, she readied X's weapon. Holding out her right arm, she allowed the glowing blue wireframe to cover it, the shapes rounding at the area where her wrist was and a small barrel extending out from her closed fist.

She briefly examined it rotating her arm to take in all the details before turning on the spot. Holding her arm in the same manner X would his buster cannon, she fired an uncharged shot that sailed off and shot an unfortunate Jakko out of the sky, the Reaverbot spiralling down before it's boy lay crumpled and embedded in the dust.

"Good to know that works." She smiled. "Now comes the real test."

Slowly at first, Velvet withdrew her arm from the holographic X buster and allowed it to float in the air before her. Encompassing both hands around it to ensure it remained there with her semblance, she began to weave the full image together. First the arm extending up to the shoulder, across to the other arm and hand. Then she began work on the body and legs, each forming steadily but surely as Velvet kept her eyes closed with a look of intense concentration on her. Coco lowered her glasses to get a good view.

At last, the head was completed and with it the mimic was ready for battle. Velvet dropped suddenly, clearly it had taken a lot out of her. As Coco went to help her up, the two observed Velvet's work.

The mimic was almost identical to X, all be it with a wireframe like structure and a lack of facial features. It stood still in an idle pose, it's shoulders heaving up and down as it mimicked X's breathing and awaited orders from it's creator. Coco began moving around the copy, observing every small detail.

"Not bad Velvet. Not bad at all."

That was until she poked it. The copy flickered for a few moments before it disappeared into nothingness. Velvet held her head as all her hard work faded away before her eyes before her ears drooped.

"Oops! Sorry!"

Velvet smiled. "That's alright. It was only my first attempt after all. I can keep working on it before putting it to the test in the field."

Yatsuhashi and Fox had both cleared the area and the team regrouped in the centre of the clearing, the vast plain now littered with various Reaverbot remains.

"Your powers are growing, Velvet. I would dare to say that your abilities place you among the best students in Remnant." Yatsuhashi said, full of praise for the Faunus girl. Velvet blushed a little and twiddled her thumbs, embarrassed.

"It's not just you though." Fox added.

"Indeed." Yastuhashi continued. "Where once we struggled against a few of these metallic foes, now we emerge triumphant with ever growing ease. If this is all that Neo Arcadia can muster, we shall have victory in no time!"

The others all gave a cheer at those words. It was true too. CFVY had been sent on another clean up mission around the resistance base. It was a routine task to prevent wandering Neo Arcadia squads from building up but even against these advanced enemies, the victories seemed almost too easy. Granted the new technology had helped and their training only made them grow stronger but it seemed like Neo Arcadia was being very passive at the moment.

In the back of her mind, that was the very thing that worried Coco.

And she then saw something that justified those fears.

Peering over the large form of Yatsuhashi, her eyes widened at the sight of something in the distance. Grabbing Velvet and Fox, she dragged them with her to hide behind a pile of Reaverbot remains, Yatsuhashi following suit.

"What is it?" Velvet whispered.

Coco seemed unnerved, a rare sight to behold from one such as herself, letting the team know that this approaching threat must be serious.

"He''s coming this way." Coco whispered in a shaken voice.

The others all had various shocked reactions. Yatsuhashi's was the most subtle, his eyes widening and a stern expression on his face. Fox bit his lip nervously and Velvet placed her hands over her mouth to muffle a large gasp. They knew exactly who their leader was referring to.

Peering around the edge of the scrap pile, the team confirmed the sighting. In the distance, coming across the plain towards the resistance base, was a Reploid. A Reploid with long blonde hair and red and white armour. A Reploid who they had heard horror stories about from Ruby at the battle of Beacon.

They heard of how he gutted Penny and fought both her and X to a standstill. She described his appearance and the nerve shattering look on his face as he emerged from the fire in the arena on that fateful night. They had been told he was once a friend of X's but now he was working with the enemy and the tales of his past relationship did little to ease their fear of him.

"It's him alright." Yatsuhashi confirmed.

"*Gulp*... Z...Zero..." Velvet whimpered.

Coco took out her scroll and activated a distress beacon. It would call anyone who was nearby to help. Upon it she had placed a simple message:

 _It's him._

 _ **Resistance Base – Train Yard**_

"Man, whoever caused that explosion must have been pissed off." One Resistance soldier said as he and his friend observed the smoking city in the distance.

"You think it was those Neo Arcadians?" His friend asked.

"Probably. Could have been Commander Schnee having a bad day though. Heh heh!"

"Don't remind me, I've had to deal with her in one of those moods before. She heard Roman Torchwick had escaped from one of our raids and she lost it. Took six months to rebuild the barracks!"

 ***HOOOOONK** *

Both solders turned their heads at the sound of an approaching train.

"Hey, we didn't have a delivery scheduled today did we? Especially not from Schnee HQ, I thought they were against us!"

The other just sighed and shook his head. "I really didn't want to do any heavy lifting today. Oh well."

The two marched over to the main drivers cab, passing several cars on their way from the back to the front. It was kind of hard to miss the holes torn through one of the weapon containers and the fact that one entire car had been blown to pieces, the wheels and base being the only parts still intact. That and the back three cars were missing!

"I don't like the looks of this." one said.

"Agreed, load up."

Cocking their rifles, the soldiers slowly advanced closer to the drivers cab as the train sat stationary and the engine whirred down.

"Hello? Anybody on board disembark immediately!"

From out of the cab, a black armoured Reploid leapt out, dusting his hands off and looking around the platform.

"Nice digs here!" He whistled before noticing the two soldiers who watched him, dumbfounded.

"Hey there!" He waved as both soldiers took aim at him in response. He seemed offended. "Now that's just plain rude!"

"Identify yourself at once!" One soldier demanded, not taking his sights off the Reploid.

"Axl! I though I told you to wait for me!" Weiss called as she too hopped onto the station platform.

"Sorry! Can't help it if my excitement gets the better of me!" Axl chuckled.

Weiss couldn't help but laugh. "You know, you remind me a lot of Ruby when I first met her."

"You mean a proud, skilful, heroic warrior?"

"I was thinking more of a childish, immature, silly, fun loving dolt who just so happens to be able to fight." Weiss corrected him, in a jokey manner of course.

Then she noticed the two soldiers, still aiming at Axl but confused beyond belief.

"At ease soldiers, he's with me."

The two soldiers lowered their rifles at once.

"It's good to have you back Miss Schnee." One said.

"Sorry for the rude introduction there buddy." The other said to Axl, shaking his hand. "Given who we're fighting against and considering what just happened to the city, we're often on edge."

"What did happen happen over there anyway?" Weiss asked.

"Winter will fill you in on the details. Just know that all your friends made it out okay. Speaking of details though, you mind telling us what happened here? Half the cargo is missing and we weren't even supposed to have a shipment today to begin with!"

"It's a long story." Weiss sighed. "Just unload what you can, I'll report to my sister."

Axl and Weiss headed of into the base with the former waving goodbye to the soldiers, who returned the gesture.

"Well, he seems pleasant enough. Kinda surprised there's another Reploid on our side though." One said as he fired up the loading crane.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." The other replied. "So long as he isn't with Neo Arcadia, I'm happy enough to have him around. Now come on, we've got a lot of work to do!"

 _ **Resistance Base- Hangar**_

On the opposite side of the base, standing just outside the hangar, X stared off into the horizon. It was a beautiful day with the sun just beginning to lower in the sky as the late afternoon drew on. The scene was almost picture perfect, save for the one blemish on it that X was watching. In the distance, a large pillar of black smoke rose miles into the sky along with flickering red and orange glows from closer to the ground. It was all that remained of the city.

"Dear God..." Blake said softly as she went to join X. The Hunter turned to look at her briefly, seeing the look of disgust and disbelief on her face.

Then again he wasn't sure what he had expected anyway. Blake was probably the most experienced of RWBY and JNPR when it came to such atrocities, given her involvement with the White Fang before joining Beacon but this attacked made the White Fang look like saints by comparison. X was just glad his friends hadn't been around to see what life was like at the height of the Maverick Wars. Incidents like this were common back then.

Maybe that's why he seemed so placid about the recent tragedy.

Thankfully the reports suggested most of the civilians were evacuated, though a few were caught in the blast and his friends were on their way back now thanks to Klaymoor's heroic actions. It could have been much worse but X wasn't going to let those deaths go unavenged.

"I knew Neo Arcadia were evil but this is just... just...inhumane." Blake said.

"It's getting out of hand." X acknowledged, not looking away from the ruins. "We need to do something soon or else it'll be too late. Xandria won't wait forever and that attack was pitiful compared to what she could be capable of."

"Why is she waiting though? What does she gain by letting us carry on with our operations? Why not just destroy us now? Not that I'm complaining, obviously." Blake queried.

"Destruction is not her goal." X explained. "She doesn't want to destroy the world, she wants it to be built up as she sees fit. A world with no humans and no faunus, only Reploids. She wants to change the world."

"Sounds like White Fang talk to me." Blake said under her breath.

"Heh. Funny. I was about to say it sounds like Maverick talk."

X laughed sadly.

"8000 years. The world is a totally different place from when I left it. Yet it seems things haven't really changed at all."

"I guess they are kind of interchangeable." Blake admitted. "White Fang, Mavericks, Neo Arcadia. Even after all this time the world is still tearing itself apart. How do people keep going no with such evil and destruction in the world?"

"Well there is one thing I'm glad hasn't changed." X said. "There may still be evil in the world and there may always be. But as long as there is evil, there will be those who fight against it."

"That's why the world is able to keep going." He explained. "Others may try to tear it apart, but there will always be those who are willing to give everything to stop them."

"Like you." Blake smiled.

"Not just me. Isn't that why you wanted to become a Huntress? You didn't want to see the world crumble around you, so you took a stand and did something about it. So did Ruby, Yang, Weiss, all of our friends. No matter how bad it gets, no matter what darknesses cover this world, we'll never give up without a fight."

As if one cue to match their now raised spirits, a Bullhead flew over them and landed down inside the hangar. Blake and X knew full well who it was and ran over to see their friends. Naturally, it was a bit of a shock to see the state they were in though.

Practically everyone except Ruby had various minor injuries and Klaymoor was barely able to stand after enduring the explosion, his ruined armour missing from his back and several other portions destroyed. Then cam Pyrrha carrying the unconscious Jaune.

"Jaune!" Blake gasped, rushing over to him.

"He'll be alright." Pyrrha reassured her as medical personnel arrived to treat their injuries. Two of them took Jaune but it took about six to aid Klaymoor given his immense size and power. Those who remained took a few brief moments of respite as they were finally back in safe territory before they had to explain what had happened to them.

"You look like you just had a fight with a herd of Goliath's!" Blake exclaimed.

"You're not far off." Ruby replied.

"What happened?" X asked.

"We were just relaxing in the city when Sigma appeared." She explained.

"You fought him?!"

"I did. I would have lost too if it wasn't for my little sister here!" Yang said, giving Ruby a pinch on the cheek.

"Turns out I have this power. I don't really know what it is but Sigma knew about it, said it had something to do with my silver eyes. That's why he went after me, he wanted to use that power for his gains."

"And you used that power to defeat him, right?" X assumed.

"Damn right she did!" Yang whooped. "Tore his arm clean off and sent him packing like a little coward!"

"It wasn't a full success though." Ruby confessed. "Sigma said he had gotten enough of what he needed before he left. Then of course there was... well..."

The friends all looked at the smoking remains of the city they had just escaped from.

"What caused that?" Blake asked.

"Mercury and Emerald." Ren answered. "Sigma took them at the battle of Beacon and bent them to his will. Practically tore out half of what made them human in the process. He forced them to fight us and when they lost, he had one final surprise waiting for us. We won't be seeing them again."

Quiet reigned for a few moments as the seriousness of the incident sank in for Blake and X. The rest were simply to exhausted to really say anything else. Blake broke the silence.

"Well the important thing is you made it out of there. I've been told we have Klaymoor to thank for that, and you too Bola."

"That's right. If you two hadn't shown up when you did, we'd be vaporised by now!" Nora said, cheery as ever as she punched Bola in the shoulder.

"My pleasure. This is just as much our fight as it is yours, and with a team like this, I'd say we're well on our way to victory. For now though, I think we deserve some well earned R and R."

As they teams went to leave the hangar, there was a collective buzz as all their scrolls went off at once. They looked at each other in bewilderment before checking their own devices.

"A distress call?" Yang asked.

"It's him?" Nora read the message. "What does that mean?"

X's breathing had picked up rapidly. He knew full well what the message meant. Whether he liked it or not, he was going to have to face his old ally in battle once again. Seeing his expression, the others had picked up on what it meant.

"Looks like the R and R will have to wait." Pyrrha ordered as she checked her weapons. "Let's go everyone."

Heading for the hangar door, they all noticed Ruby had gone on ahead and was now waiting at the side of the blast door. The expression on her face was unusual to say the least. A mix of sadness and anger.

"Ruby? What are you-" Yang began before she stopped short in response to Ruby's action.

Drawing Crescent Rose, Ruby took aim inside the hangar and fired a single shot. It whizzed right over the teams heads and hit something on the wall with a tinkling of glass following it.

The emergency lock down.

As soon as that was hit, alarms began blaring and the hangar door began to close rapidly.

"Ruby! What the hell are you doing?" Yang called as the group sprinted towards the closing exit as fast as they could. X using his dash boots as much as possible while Yang punched the ground and propelled herself forward as the other could just run with all their might.

Walking away slowly with her weapon still drawn, Ruby watched her friends futile efforts to get out before she turned and made her way towards the distress beacon's location.

The door closed with automatic locks clanking into place just as Yang and X reached the door Yang started punching away at the reinforced metal with all her strength but it refused to budge even an inch despite the girls determined grunts as her punches landed. X dashed to the override console and began typing into it before the screen on it went black. Giving it a small bash, he realised the power had been cut and didn't need any second guess that Ruby had done it.

With the sound of metal bashing getting ever softer as she walked on, Ruby sighed to herself.

"I'm sorry everyone."

Reaching into the small pouch on her belt, she took out a small pink bow. A bow that belonged to a very dear friend. Looking at it she let out a few sniffles and some tears hit the accessory. She clenched it tightly for a few moments before putting it back in.

"This is personal." She growled as she loaded up Crescent Rose.

 _ **Oh crap! Should have known Ruby wouldn't take kindly to Zero's arrival!**_

 _ **Will she destroy Zero before her friends can reach her? What will Zero do if he has to fight his future ally? Can X and the others get to them in time? And what will happen when Axl meets up with X?**_

 _ **All will be revealed in future instalments!**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	43. The Price of Vengeance

_**Before the reviews, I just realised we have passed 300 reviews on this story! Looking at the other stats wowed me as well. 132 favourites and 140 follows! I can't thank you all enough for supporting me in this story and keeping it going!**_

 _ **Gravenimage: Yeah, not gonna be an easy path, is it?**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: WHAT IS SHE FIGHTING FOOOOOOOOOOOR?**_

 _ **Grimlock987: Ruby, wat r u doing? Ruby! STAHP!**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: But they don't even know what is happening? Who will be able to stop Ruby? D:**_

 _ **R98: You talking about RWBY or this story? I mean... you're right in both cases.**_

 _ **AXL999: Yeah. Thought it fitting. :3**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Glad to hear I've got Ruby's character down right!**_

 _ **ScourgeTheBoss: You're welcome my friend!**_

 _ **DukesofBoston: Remember, Axl spent time in Neo Arcadia with X and Zero. He would have had his abilities refined and upgraded by then. As for my favourites, it's a tie between X4 and X8. Both just perfected the formula on each console.**_

 _ **On we go!**_

"Right. Does anyone have a plan?"

Fox's teammates responded with shaking heads.

It had been about five minutes since team CFVY had seen Zero approaching and taken cover. They were still situated behind the junk pile in various different states.

Coco was frantically trying to work something out, she felt it was her job as team leader. Fox was bored out of his skull as, despite the initial fear, Zero had not yet done anything to even try and harm them. Right now he was struggling to understand what he was afraid of to begin with. Yatsuhashi was patiently waiting, legs crossed and a cup of herbal tea in his hand, while Velvet in her usual manner, was shaking with fear and ears drooped.

"Where did you even get that?" Fox questioned Yatsuhashi on his beverage.

"I always carry a Thermos full of it. Really helps calm the nerves in the heat of battle."

Seeing Velvet's condition, the giant offered her a cup of the soothing liquid but the bunny girl seemed to preoccupied with fearing for her life to notice his gesture. Yatsuhashi shrugged and went back to his relaxed state.

"We need to do something! Anything! I'm going nuts over here!"

"I'm working on it, alright?" Coco scolded. "We can't just go up there and fight him."

"Why not?" Fox asked.

"Don't you remember what he did? He beat X and Ruby to a standstill in the coliseum!"

"Yeah but there's four of us when there was only two of them."

"He's an advanced combat robot we know next to nothing about and you want to go in, all guns blazing?"

"Beats cowering down here! No offence, Velvet."

Velvet gave a small whimper.

"I'd rather stay here than go out there with no plan!"

"You could always come out and talk!"

Coco raised an eyebrow. "When did your voice get that deep Velvet?"

Velvet's eyes had gone wide and her pupils so small they were practically non existent against her sheet white face.

"T-t-that wasn't m-m-me." She squeaked.

Her teammates all promptly copied her expression before slowly standing up and peering over the top of the destroyed Reaverbots they had made earlier, the tops of their heads barely making it over the cover.

"How you doing?" Zero waved.

Team CFVY slowly looked back and forth between each other before drawing their weapons and aiming them at Zero's head. Except for Velvet of course who was still frozen with fear.

Zero seemed surprisingly at ease despite the heavy calibre weaponry pointed at him. He raised his hands and gave a deep sort of 'Here we go' sigh.

"Just take it easy. I'm not going to hurt you, see?" He said, gesturing to the sabre holstered on his belt. "No energy blade drawn, no buster cannon activated, I'm not here to fight."

Team CFVY seemed doubtful about that statement but they had to admit, Zero was making no attempt to take them down and based on the reports they had heard prior, he could have killed them by now if he wanted to. It was therefore with trepidation that they moved out of hiding and made their way over to Zero, weapons still drawn and aimed at him.

Zero had expected this much and so held no ill will for their understandable caution. He did think that Velvet was overreacting a bit though. The girl hadn't moved a muscle and as a result, Yatsuhashi was forced to pick her up and plonk her back down with the rest of the team.

Zero gave his fingers a snap to try and get her attention but that only succeeded in making her give a small yelp and hide behind Yatsuhashi, her ears poking out of the side of the giant's form who patted her head to try and keep her calm.

"You have a lot of guts just marching up to us and expecting not to be blown to pieces. Had it been any other team, they may have just shot you on sight. You're lucky it was us you came across and not RWBY or JNPR." Fox said, still trying to see through Zero and what he was doing here.

"Believe me, I'm grateful for it." Zero replied. "The fact you didn't shoot me down just confirms my realisation."

"What might that be?" Yatsuhashi boomed.

"That I was on the wrong side."

It was from that moment that Team CFVY realised that Zero#s peaceful approach was genuine, even to the point that Velvet slipped back out into view though she still stayed close to Yatsuhashi. The rest of her team all slowly lowered their firearms.

"You are not here to fight. You are here to do the opposite. To make peace." Fox concluded.

"That's a little optimistic of you, isn't it?" Coco asked, getting a stare from her team as a result.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy for you to do so but after the stunt you pulled at Beacon, you'll have a much harder time convincing others there that you have really turned over a new leaf."

"Why would you do it anyway?"

Everyone looked at Velvet as the faunus had spoken up for the first time in ages, and she had asked a crucial question.

"With Neo Arcadia so close to victory, why would you come back now?"

"They never gave me a choice." Zero said softly.

"Look." Coco began, adjusting her glasses. "We can't guarantee anything but you've convinced me so we'll take you back to the resistance base. Persuading the others and mending the wounds you've created, that's something you will have to do yourself."

"I expected no less."

Zero then took the Z-Sabre off his belt and passed it to Yatsuhashi, the giant looking at it curiously for a few moments, twisting it in his hand before a metallic object was thrown at him. Catching it, Team CFVY's jaws dropped when they realised Zero had passed Yatsuhashi his left arm! Only a small, unpainted inner joint was left and even the normally composed Yatsuhashi seemed uncomfortable with what had just happened.

Seeing their faces, Zero laughed a little. "Sorry, no other way for me to remove my buster since it's built into it."

"At least now he is _unarmed._ " Fox laughed.

Coco just shook her head, that was almost as bad as some of Yang's puns! Yatsuhashi clearly agreed and slapped his teammate with Zero's hand.

"Come on, let's get going." Coco ordered as her team moved out with Zero following.

It was only a few steps later when they had to stop though as Coco's scroll began to ring. Looking at the screen, she saw X was the caller and quickly answered.

"Just relax X baby, we're all fine now." She boasted.

Fox's ears pricked up as he could have sworn he heard a faint whooshing sound, like something whizzing past them at speed. Yatsuhashi looked around, was that a shadow he just saw going by?

" _Listen to me, you have to get back to the base now! We'll come and back you up as soon as we can!_ "

"Woah, woah, X! Slow down and tell me what's going on!"

" _There's no time, just tell us where you are!_

Coco was baffled by the panic in his voice but obliged his request. "We're at-"

 ***BANG** *

A shot rang out and the scroll was knocked from Coco's ear by the bullet. The device clattered to the ground with a bullet hole right through the screen, sparking uselessly.

"What the hell was th- AAAAAAHH!"

"Coco!" Velvet screamed.

Before her leader had even been able to finish her sentence, a taser round hit her in the back. Blue electricity coursed over as she shook and twitched violently before falling onto her knees, then onto her front, unconscious.

"Yatsu! Help me out over here!" Velvet squeaked.

The giant started to make his way over before a round exploded in his face, releasing a cloud of greenish looking powder. He stumbled back a few steps before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell onto his back with a thud, joining Coco in her state of comatose.

Zero was staying close to Velvet, trying to spot where the shots were coming from. This wasn't how he had planned his reunion with X to be. Were Neo Arcadia still after him? Why would they use knockout tactics though?

"Fox, be careful!"

It was too late though as Fox felt a sharp pain in his neck before he was immobilised too. That wasn't what shocked the sole remaining Huntress though, it was who had just knocked fox out with the butt of her scythe blade.

"Ruby? What are you doing?"

Ruby said nothing, merely took aim at Velvet and fired a shot. The bunny girl raising her arms to protect herself. The shot did not pierce her guard though, instead it exploded in a cloud of white dust that froze Velvet in place up to her shoulders. She strained to get free but the ice was too thick.

"Sorry Velvet. I didn't want to do this but I heard what you've been saying. I have something to take care of and you wouldn't let me do it if I didn't take you out of the picture."

Velvet just continued to try and struggle free of her cold bindings, to no avail as Ruby looked past her to the only other person still standing.

"Isn't that right, Zero?"

Now it was clear to Velvet why Ruby was here. "Ruby, listen to me, it's not what you think."

"Shut it."

"Just listen! It's about Zero! He-"

"I SAID SHUT IT!"

Ruby fired another ice blast, aiming it so that the edge just grazed Velvet's cheek. That was enough though as an ice covering formed across her cheek and covered her mouth, reducing Velvet's protests to mere muffled shouts before the cold sapped her of her remaining energy and she too slipped into unconciousness.

Ruby reached into her pouch and held the pink bow up high for Zero to see.

"Do you remember this?" She asked.

"..."

"DO YOU?!"

Zero nodded.

"Of course you do, because it belonged to my friend. Her name was Penny, and you killed her! You stabbed her right through the chest and smiled as she lay dying in that arena!"

Zero said nothing, but that didn't stop the pang of guilt he felt as Ruby brought back the memories of what he had done. True, he wasn't in control and hadn't been in his right mind at the time. But deep down in there, the true Zero, the Zero that was here now, had been begging and trying to stop himself.

"You killed her, and I'm going to make you suffer for it!

This wasn't like Ruby and she knew that. She was normally so chirpy and caring. After seeing her friends killer though, she was overcome with anger and sadness. This wasn't like her, the thing was, she didn't care.

(Insert music: Resident Evil 5 OST – Winds of Madness)

Ruby took aim at Zero and opened fire on him. With his buster cannon and sabre missing, Zero could do little more than dash his way around the incoming fire. Bullets zipped past him and a few embedded into the ground near his feet but none managed to hit him at full dashing speed.

Seeing his path was leading towards Yatsuhashi, Zero made an attempt to get his weapons back. Dashing towards the fallen giant, Ruby saw what he was attempting and changed to an ice shot. Rather than firing one bullet, she unloaded the whole clip at once. The entire area around Yatsuhashi was coated with an icy prison, including Zero's weapons. Zero arrived just a split second too late, his remaining hand pressed against the clear barrier.

"You didn't give her a chance." Ruby said, her gaze narrowing as she loaded a new clip into Crescent Rose. "I won't give you one either!"

Zero's eyes darted around the clearing for something, anything to fight back with. That was when he realised Fox had dropped one of his weapons, the other still attached to his arm. Since Zero was missing an arm anyway, it didn't really matter. Dashing over to the unconscious boy, he equipped himself with one of the bladed pistols. It was unusual but right now he was not in a position to complain about weapon choice.

Ruby leapt forward and swung her scythe down at Zero, the Reploid tilting his body to the left so the blade just missed him. Another swing passed over his head as Ruby spun to carry the energy through into a kick that hit Zero's chest, knocking him back.

As he glided back, Zero took aim and fired a shot at Ruby. Swinging her blade, the clang of metal let him know the shot had been blocked as he regained his footing. Aiming at her again, Zero fired three shots. The first two were cut aside with horizontal swings while Ruby advanced on him. The third was leapt over as Ruby fired a shot into the ground to propel herself upwards while Zero watched on.

Front flipping through the air, she brought her scythe down just in front of his feet since Zero had the sense to move back far enough to evade the strike. Ruby went in for another horizontal swing that Zero leapt over. Readying the borrowed weapon as he soared over her head, Zero commenced firing from the air.

Ruby jumped after him, flipping backwards repeatedly with her scythe held firm, deflecting the shots that were fired at her. Coming level with Zero's altitude, she brought her scythe back out and wrapped the inner edge of the blade around his neck. Even the legendary hunter was caught off guard by the speed of the teenage prodigy and stood no chance of evading the move. With her prey caught, Ruby pulled her Scythe down, pulling Zero with it as he hit the ground with a cringe inducing smash.

He rolled to the side as Ruby slammed the scythe blade into the spot where he had been mere milliseconds ago. The force of her attempt was great enough that it bounced Zero off the ground and he used this to get back to his feet quickly.

Though he really didn't want to hurt Ruby, I seemed words would do little good at this point. Deciding against using the sword on the blade gun, he instead went in for a high kick. Ruby held up the handle of her scythe to defend against it with ease and the same followed for the follow up kick with his other foot. A roundhouse kick after these allowed Ruby and opening.

Using her scythe like a hook, she caught Zero's leading foot and brought it forcefully back to the ground, knocking him out of sync. Spinning around, she used the end of her scythe handle to bash Zero in the face and disorientate him for a brief moment. Before swinging back around and slashing him directly across the chest with her scythe edge.

Wanting to put an end to his resistance, Ruby tried to use the tip of her scythe to pierce through his head by swinging it down like a hammer. Zero jumped back and fired again with the blade gun. He had little time to aim and so had to adjust his trajectory in mid air.

Bullets impacted on the ground, moving closer to Ruby as Zero was able to use his inherent speed to fire the pistol like it was a machine gun, his finger a blur against the trigger. Ruby twirled her scythe between her fingers at an equal pace to block the shots, the metallic pinging of the spent ammunition hitting the weapon filled her ears as did the clatter of bullets falling to the ground around her.

Ruby then flung her scythe at Zero so that it spun towards him while she slid underneath the remaining bullets that she could no longer deflect. The red Hunter had no time to react, a small gasp escaping his mouth before he was forced to raise his remaining arm to protect himself from the incoming attack.

 ***SHING** *

The scythe made contact with Zero's arm and he was thankful that he had taken Fox's weapon for though his arm was fine, the gun blade now lay in the dirt having been sliced clean in two.

Ruby wasn't going to let him off that easily though. Pushing her self back up from her slide, she caught the scythe in mid air and knocked Zero's arm down with the handle. Without any protection, she swung off the scythe and kicked him in the jaw with both feet, repeating this manoeuvrer twice. The first knocked him off guard, the second sent him stumbling and the third was enough for Zero to finally give in and fall to his knees. A final swing of the scythe sent sparks across Zero's chest and sent him skidding backwards before coming to a rest against a pile of scrap metal.

Zero placed a hand against the gash that went across his chest. It still glowed hot from the friction of the strike and if one peered in they could see vital components, exposed yet with only superficial damage.

Shakily getting onto one knee, he prepared to get back up only for Ruby knock him back down with a hit from her scythe. Zero's head clanged against the ground before Ruby put her boot against his head, pressing down on it as she stood over him in victory.

"You caused a lot of suffering back at Beacon." She began. "I'll make sure you pay for it."

She then kicked Zero in the head, making him roll across the ground. She did again and let him roll onto his front before stomping on his head repeatedly. It didn't seem to do much damage though it caused a few cracks across his helmet.

"What's the matter, Zero?!" She taunted with her teeth clenched together. "Aren't you gonna stop me? Cut me to pieces like you did to Penny?"

The stomping eventually subsided and she gave Zero one more kick to see if he was still responding. He twitched a little bit but showed few reactions otherwise, being to damaged to even move at this point.

"Guess you weren't as tough as I thought. Your time is up, Zero."

Ruby drew Crescent Rose and pulled the hammer back, letting a loud clack sound out across the clearing. She raised it up and rested the handle against her shoulder, letting the barrel point straight at Zero's head. Her finger quivered against the trigger in anticipation? Fear? Satisfaction? All these emotions and more ran through Ruby's veins until she heard a call.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Looking behind her, Ruby saw Weiss just a few feet away, her rapier pointed at Ruby and a look of sympathy hidden behind the glare on her face. There was also another person standing beside her, wearing black armour like X's and with two handguns aimed at Ruby.

"Zero!" Axl started to run over to his friend but skidded to a halt when Ruby turned her weapon to aim at him. He raised his hands and started to back away slowly.

"What is this meaning of this, Ruby Rose?" Weiss demanded.

"I'm doing what none of our friends would be able to. I'm going to rid Remnant of this monster!" She answered, aiming back at Zero.

"You know I can't let you do that." Weiss responded, spinning her revolver attachment into place.

"Why are you defending him?" Ruby asked. "Is it because of X? Are you going to listen to him just because he said he was once a friend of his?"

"What if I am?"

"You're asking me to put my trust in X's word, even after all this bastard has done?! He cut down Penny right in front of my eyes! She died in my arms, Weiss! You expect me to just let him live because X said so? Because you said so!?"

"No, Ruby." Weiss said, lowering her blade. "I'm asking you to stop because you know this is wrong."

Ruby's grasp on the scythe loosened a little bit, though she still kept her aim on the red Reploid before Weiss continued.

"Think about it Ruby. If you start taking lives for the sake of revenge, how does that make you any better than our enemies? Adam sought revenge and it cost him his life. So did Blake before she changed her ways and joined us. Not to mention the very thing you want to destroy; Neo Arcadia."

Ruby lowered her weapon, but still didn't look at Weiss.

"Xandria has brought all this suffering on the world because she wants revenge for what X did to her. Look at what this lust for revenge has done so far. Is this the path you want to take Ruby?"

Ruby looked around at the clearing. Team CFVY lay out cold around her because of her single goal of vengeance. Tasered, beaten and frozen in place by her own hand. Ruby moved a hand over her face as she started to realise what her short sightedness had caused.

"Is this what Penny would want?"

That was the line that resonated within Ruby. She took a look back at Zero, still lying there, barely alive. The gash mark across his chest was sparking badly and he only twitched occasionally now.

As Ruby looked at Zero, she saw a brief flash and for a moment she could swear she saw Penny. The exact same pose, the sabre piercing her chest, it all came back to Ruby's memory. What she had done to Zero, was no better than what he had done to Penny at the battle of beacon.

She was becoming the very thing she was fighting against.

Weiss watched as Ruby dropped Crescent Rose carelessly, her arms drooping to her sides. She turned around to look at Weiss and that was when they could see the tears starting to well up, her lip quivering. Sheathing her rapier, Weiss ran up to her and hugged her teammate tightly as Ruby's tears flowed.

"I'm sorry... *sniff*... I'm so...so sorry. *Sob*"

"Sssshhhh... it's okay. It's alright." Weiss said softly as she comforted her friend.

Axl had taken the opportunity to check on Zero and Team CFVY. Not wanting to interrupt, he gave a small thumbs up to show they would be alright, much to Weiss' relief. He looked to the sky as the sounds of Bullhead engines came overhead. The ships started to descend, one medical ship and two support ships. Ruby and Weiss didn't move as their allies moved in to help.

Zero's vision was static filled and unclear as his power reserves started to switch off to keep his core systems up. He saw Weiss comforting Ruby and several other people from Beacon running over to them, as well as several soldiers. There were two figures that piqued his interest however as the black one pointed him out and he along with the blue one came running over to him.

" _Zero? Zero!_ " He barely heard one of them say.

"Heh... Good to see you again... X... Axl..." Zero said before the world faded to black.

 _ **Well, that happened. With that, the fights are done for a while for real now, I promise! It's time for a few truths to be exchanged, friendships to be reformed, as well as some wounds to be mended.**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	44. Uniting the Hunters

_**At last our heroes are reunited! It's time to exchange a few stories and truths before carrying on the fight!**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: One of the greatest quotes I've heard and so relatable to our own lives. Same for Aerobolt's quote too. Glad you noticed the relation to Vile at the end! As for the armours, maybe they will appear here, maybe in the sequel.**_

 _ **Grimlock987: Not really possible as RWBY tech isn't as advanced as Zero. Best they can do for now is repair him. Future upgrades are a possibility though!**_

 _ **Gravenimage: This chapter should help answerthat question.**_

 _ **DukesofBoston: Probably but the location of his sabre is a minor thing I'm not too worried about. As for question two: The upcoming chapters should help reveal that.**_

 _ **Dragon Man 180: A bit more build up before the final arc!**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: THEY PLAYED US LIKE A DAMN FIDDLE!**_

 _ **On we go!**_

(Insert music: Megaman ZXA OST – Relief (Awakening))

 _SYSTEM STARTUP COMPLETE. ALL ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS ONLINE. RESTORING POWER TO MAIN SYSTEMS NOW._

 _SPEECH CAPABILITIES: ACTIVATED._

 _PRIMARY MOTOR SYSTEMS: ENGAGED_

 _VISUAL SYSTEMS: 75% AND RISING_

The static from Zero's vision slowly started to fade away, revealing the room he currently occupied to him. He was lying in a bed of some description in a white room. Though his vision was still blurred he could make out a vital signs monitor, the repetitive beeping from it reinforcing his assumption. From this, he could also assume that the tray beside him was filled with surgical tools, though they had not been used on him since he was metal rather than flesh.

"Oh, you're awake! That's wonderful!"

Zero turned his head to the sound of the voice. A female voice with a cheerful yet soothing tone to it. His visual receptors were still coming online so the figure was somewhat blurred.

She was wearing the expected attire for someone in the medical profession; a long white coat with practical yet smart clothing underneath. What caught his eye though was her hair. Chestnut brown and held in a long ponytail that stretched down her back. With his memory still fuzzy after the initial wake up, Zero called out to who he assumed it was.

"I...Iris?"

"I'm sorry?" The figure responded with a tilt of her head.

"Iris... Is that you?" Zero held out a hand to try and reach her.

Only to let it slowly drop back down as his vision was restored to 100% operating capacity. The girl was simply a nurse with the same hairstyle. Seeing his expression fall, she approached him.

"I'm sorry, I don't know who you are talking about I'm afraid. Is Iris one of your friends? Shall I go and see if she is waiting outside?"

Zero placed the hand he had held out against his head. That's right. Iris wasn't here any more. Nor was anyone from the Hunter Base, save for X and Axl. He remembered seeing them just before he blacked out and the whole reason he had blacked out was because of a fight with some girl with a scythe.

Ruby, that was her name wasn't it? X and Axl arrived with some other humans that seemed to know her. Were they X and Axl's friends? Why was that girl fighting him? Just how much had he missed while under Neo Arcadia's influence?

"Sir?"

He snapped back when the nurse called to him, a concerned expression on her face as Zero seemed to be staring into space with no real focus until she had called to him.

Well, he didn't know where he was, but he knew there were good old friends who would happily give him answers. Then again, so would this nurse. Remembering her innocent gesture however, Zero first sat up and smiled before responding.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I could do with some answers though since I got bashed about pretty hard."

"You're not wrong there." The nurse said, flicking through some notes on a scroll. "Minor damage to the power core, structural integrity loss in the main chassis and wide spread damage to external armour. Thankfully there were no fatalities since we got you and Team CFVY back here so quickly."

"Team what now?"

"The four people you first met. They were sent out to clear the perimeter of the Resistance Base when they came across you. They're resting in their own separate rooms at the moment."

"Resistance Base, huh? I guess that's where I am now?"

"That's right! X and his friends brought you back here. They are waiting outside if you want to see them. General Schnee has given permission."

"Thanks. Could you let me speak to X and Axl first please?"

The nurse nodded and went to fetch the two Reploids, giving a smile to Zero as she passed him.

Once she had left, Zero decided it was time to get off this rather uncomfortable bed. Standing up and taking a closer look around the room, he saw that there was a large window behind him, obviously a nurse's station since it looked into the separate rooms. Placing his hand against the glass, he saw the members of Team CFVY resting soundly after their injuries from Ruby.

Zero could tell that was going to be a fun one to explain.

"Zero!" An all too familiar voice cried.

Turning to face them, Zero beheld the sight of his two closest friends once more.

"Heh. What took you s- OOF!"

(Insert music: Megaman X Command Mission: Me, Axl!)

Before Zero could finish his sentence, he had been floored by Axl latching on to him, causing both to fall while X laughed.

"Zero! You're back!" Axl laughed.

"8000 years. You couldn't have grown up a little bit in that time, Axl?"

"Nope!" Axl grinned before Zero gave a smile back.

Zero flicked him on the nose, causing the boy to fall back off him as Zero got up and dusted himself off. He would have berated Axl but he was just a kid to be fair. Besides, Zero had to admit that the child like innocence was something he would miss.

"It's good to have you back, old friend." X held out an open hand, which Zero took hold of as the two bro shaked.

"Like you'd ever get rid of me that easily."

Axl quickly hopped back up and placed an arm around X and Zero before forcefully pulling them in.

"The trio is back together! For none can stop the ultimate Maverick Hunters!" Axl proclaimed with a heroic point to the sky before Zero slipped out underneath his arm.

"And from what I can tell, we've all got a lot of catching up to do. Not to mention some new acquaintances to make."

X nodded. "I can't wait to introduce you to them! There's Ruby and Yang and Weiss and-"

"Woah, woah!" Slow it down a bit! We'll have plenty of time to meet your friends later X. Go get them all and me and Axl can introduce ourselves."

"What about you?" Axl asked.

"I've got some explaining to do first of all." He answered before leaving the room.

 _ **Team RWBY's Quarters**_

You would be forgiven for thinking that no one was in Team RWBY's dorm if you were to enter it at that moment. The room was deathly silent and undisturbed to any outsiders wandering in. If you were to listen carefully however, you would hear the faint sound of breathing coming from one of the crudely put together bunk beds.

And the one responsible for it?

Ruby Rose.

Ever since the incident she had been something of a wreck, to put it bluntly. After boarding the Bullhead with her friends they had all tried to comfort her or ask what had happened out there. She had shut it all out until they arrived back at the resistance base. After that, she just ran, leaving a trail of petals in her wake before shutting herself in her team room.

The time she had spent blocking out the questions had not been wasted. It had given her the opportunity to think over what had occurred, what she had done and now she realised just how stupid and selfish it was.

She stared up at the blank ceiling from her top bunk and cursed herself for her weakness. In that one moment of selfishness, she had injured friends who were trying to help as well as X's former partner, who she had overheard may well be on their side now. She was so focused on avenging Penny that she had done the last thing Penny would have wanted her to do.

She knew had disappointed a lot of people. Her sister, her team, her friends, her superiors too. Most importantly and most painfully though; she knew she had disappointed those she had wanted to avenge.

There would be a lot of unpleasant questions to be answered and explanations to be given but know was not the time. Before she was subjected to a grilling by others, she was content to beat herself up over the whole thing in solitude. At least she was until-

 _ ***KNOCK KNOCK***_

Barely even lifting her head up, Ruby stared at the door for a moment before flopping back down and wrapping a pillow around her head, turning onto her side as she did so.

"Not now guys." She called out with no enthusiasm.

 _ ***KNOCK KNOCK***_

"I told you to leave me alone!" She called, slightly annoyed now.

 _ ***KNOCK KNOCK***_

"UUUUUUUUUGH!"

Throwing the pillow to the side, Ruby rolled out of her bunk and made her way over to the door. Her friends were persistent if nothing else. Maybe telling them to leave directly to their faces would get the point across. Though she knew that was rude, she really didn't want to field any questions from them at the moment.

She approached the door and pressed the button to deactivate the lock and the metal obstruction slid open with a hiss.

"For the last time, just...just..."

Ruby tensed up and stumbled across her words before they failed her altogether. There, standing in the doorway, was Zero. The one she had tried to kill mere hours ago. He did not go for her outright but that did little to put Ruby at ease. She backed away slowly, bumping into the wall behind her and desperately felt around for Crescent Rose before finding it propped against the wall to her left. She immediately drew it and aimed at Zero, panic in her eyes as she hyperventilated.

"S-s-stay back!" She stuttered between rapid breaths.

Zero motioned for her to calm down. "Woah, easy there! I'm not gonna hurt you."

Ruby moved the sight of her weapon away from her eye but still held her weapon firmly.

"You aren't? You mean, you aren't going to get back at me for what I did?"

"If I was, do you honestly think they would have let me anywhere near you?"

Zero gestured with a point of his thumb out the door behind him. Peeking out, Ruby saw A few resistance soldiers waiting nearby, having allowed Zero access to her quarters. One of them gave a small wave to show they were genuine. Ruby lowered her weapon, placing back against the wall.

"Why are you here then?" She asked, sitting down on the bottom bunk as she let Zero enter.

"To resolve this whole thing." He replied. "You may have attacked me back there but from what I've been told, it was pretty much deserved."

(Insert music: Megaman Maverick Hunter X OST – Zero's Sacrifice)

He sat down on the bed beside her, leaning forward with his hands together as he prepared for the talk.

"Back at the arena, when we first fought. Before you entered, I remember I was fighting a girl. A ginger haired girl with blades she could control. Tell me, who was she?" He asked.

Ruby held back tears as she thought of her friend and the events that took place on that fateful day.

"Her name was Penny. Penny Poledina." She began. "She was an experimental robot build by the Atlesian army, kind of like a Reploid. She had her own Aura, Semblance and Soul. Just like a human girl."

"From what I gather, she was very dear to you."

Ruby nodded as she wiped away at one eye. "She was the only one who trusted me with her secret. She knew I didn't care about her being a robot, just that she was my friend."

Ruby's voice cracked before she finally burst into tears again. Pawing away at her eyes, Zero placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright. Just let it all out. Believe me, I know what it's like to lose someone dear to you." He sighed, thinking back to his lover, whom he had had to kill so many millennia ago.

"I know I can't really make it up to you. Nothing in the world can equal the value of a friend lost." He sighed. "But I just want you to know this. I never wanted to kill her."

"Huh?" Ruby seemed confused as she sniffled.

"I was manipulated, controlled by those in Neo Arcadia. They filled my head with false memories and programming, convinced me that X and you humans were Maverick who had wiped out everyone who lived in Neo Arcadia. The thing is, they were never fully in control."

Zero placed his head in one hand as he explained.

"Even though they had control over my body and mind for the most part. The true me was still in there, watching helplessly. I can remember fighting Penny and I knew it was wrong, I knew she was innocent, you all were! I was fighting it, begging myself to stop because I knew I was taking innocent lives!"

He shook his head, clenching a fist tightly.

"But it wasn't enough. And because of my failure, I was forced to watch her die at my hands... and watch you suffer as a result. The regret and shame I felt seeing you holding her, it was unbearable. All the while, the me I wasn't in command of just laughed."

Zero winced slightly as the painful memory surfaced again. The sound of his own laughter filling his ears and making the unwanted image complete.

"I don't expect you to forgive me. I honestly can't blame you after everything I've brought upon you. I just wanted to let you know that despite what it may seem like, I was trying my hardest to stop myself, and I'm going to make sure that those responsible are punished for it!"

Ruby just stared at him, it was a lot to process but the hatred she had felt for Zero was turning into... pity. He had never wanted to hurt Penny and yet he was forced to watch on while his body had carried out the horrific act. Ruby had no idea, if she had then she never would have sought vengeance in the first place.

Zero stood up to leave silently, his robotic feet making their signature thud along the floor as he walked. He had just reached the door and was about to leave when-

"Zero!"

He looked back to find Ruby standing right next to him.

"I was just as much in the wrong as you were. Neither of us should be keeping this sorry saga going any longer than it has already. You were controlled by Neo Arcadia to attack Penny, and that led me down a path that I should never have walked on. A path where revenge is all that matters, the same path that Xandria took."

She smiled at Zero before continuing.

"Neither of us can undo what we've done. All we can do is forgive each other and move on. You've proven willing to do that and so am I. We can't bring her back, but we can make sure that what happened to her doesn't happen to anyone else we care about!"

Ruby readied Crescent Rose, holstering the folded weapon on her back before she held up an arm in front of Zero.

"We're going to stop Xandria once and for all. For Penny!"

Zero smiled back and held his arm up so it crossed over Ruby's, the same gesture he and X had made when they had sworn to work for a better world so long ago.

"For Penny." He agreed. "Now, shall I go and introduce myself, or are you gonna come help me?"

Ruby giggled as she left the room with her new ally. They were reunited not as enemies this time, but as friends.

 _ **Briefing Room**_

Making their way into the room, Ruby and Zero found the rest of Team RWBY, JNPR, X and Axl. All of them were gathered round a large holographic display table, observing a variety of information.

"Ahem!" Zero cleared his throat loudly, attracting the attention of all present.

"There you are sis!" Yang cheered, hugging her sister with a little to much force as Ruby struggled for breath.

"Yang! Lungs! Crushing!" She struggled to say.

"Oops! Sorry, still haven't got used to the strength of this arm yet." She laughed.

Relinquishing her grip on her sister, Ruby wheezed before flopping onto the ground, face first. She quickly got back up though and dusted herself of as Winter joined them.

"Good to have you back with us Miss Rose. The same to you Zero. X has assured me that letting join us will not be a mistake but, given the previous... incident, you will understand if I am a bit sceptical."

"I can't blame you for that but thank you for giving me this chance. I look forward to proving myself to you, and hopefully start to set things right."

Winter could not have asked for a better response to put her at ease.

"Now as for you, Axl!"

Zero pointed the young Reploid out, making him look up from the game he had found on his scroll in surprise.

"X and I sealed ourselves away for 8000 years but as I recall, you didn't. So you mind telling me how the hell you're still here after all this time?"

"And what you were doing in my family mansion?" Weiss added.

Everyone present looked at Axl, awaiting his response. The black Reploid put his scroll away as he stood to tell the tale.

"Guess you don't remember _everything_ , huh? Then again, maybe you didn't want to." Ahe said with a sadness in his eyes.

"Please, tell us if you can, Axl." X requested.

"We've fought together for as long as I can remember." He began. "From the first time we met against Red Alert, all through the Maverick Wars and even against Xandria, we always had each others backs. I was prepared to follow through with that until the very end."

He paused for a moment, to see if there was any sign of recollection in X or Zero's eyes. Seeing none, he continued.

"After we defeated Xandria and the Mavericks, you planned to use your power to seal them away. Although it was necessary, there was always the risk that Xandria would have a backup plan for after you went into stasis. Not wanting to take the risk, you asked me to do the something none of us wanted to happen."

"What?" Nora wondered.

Axl sighed. "You asked me to stay behind."

Realisation washed over X and Zero like a tidal wave, though their human friends were a little slower on the uptake.

"You both were sealed in Neo Arcadia, unable to help the humans who had left to rebuild their lives. So you asked me to guide them, watch over them, protect them. You kept the Mavericks sealed and I kept the humans safe."

"You've been wandering Remnant for 8000 years, to keep us safe?" Winter asked to confirm.

Axl nodded. "And I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

Zero and X were amazed. The little joker of their group, so light hearted and innocent by comparison, had spent 8000 years on his own? Just because they asked him to help? X was glad that Signas had convinced him to let Axl join the Hunters all those years ago, he was a true friend and a true hero.

"Hold on a minute though." Ruby piped up. "If you've been around for 8000 years, how come there is no record of you?"

"It does seem strange." Pyrrha agreed. "Even the primitive people of Remnant from thousands of years ago would have had some method recording your existence, yet there is no mention of anyone like yourself in the legends and myths of old, Axl."

The Reploid chuckled for a moment. "Isn't there?"

No one knew what he meant by that statement.

"Tell me, how many of you have heard of Lia Emeric?" Axl asked.

"We all have." Ren answered. "Professor Oobleck told us about her in his history class. Legend says she wiped the Vacuo plains clear of Grimm and let the first settlements be created in the desert."

"And what weapon did she wield?"

Ren though for a moment. "The stories say she used magic to fire fiery bolts at the Grimm, though looking at all the records of the tale implies that she wielded a pair of... hand guns."

"Alright." Axl continued. "How about Carnel Teal?"

"Oh!" Nora squeaked. "I know this one! A legendary knight over 500 years ago. He used his power to bring peace between the warring settlements in Vale."

"And his his power was?" Axl egged on.

"The stories say he could change his body into any animal or person in existence, he was a shape shifter! Just...just like... you..."

Everyone in the room fell silent as they realised the impossible theory was true.

"No... get outta here!" Yang laughed. "You mean to tell me, that Remnant's legendary heroes, warriors and leaders, some of them were you?"

"You catch on quick!" Axl congratulated her.

"still doesn't explain how you ended up in the Schnee mansion." Weiss interrupted.

"Oh that? Well I may be 8000 years old but, I like to keep up with the times. When I heard that a team had discovered Neo Arcadia and X, I did a bit of sleuthing. Only thing I could find was the Schnee name, so I posed as a servant, made up some credentials and got hired in the mansion itself. It gave me a chance to snoop through some files for information and, by chance, led me to Weiss and you guys!"

"Why do all that though?" Jaune queried.

"Well, as I'm sure you know already, there are people out there who seek power and want to abuse it. Cinder and the White Fang were just the latest in a long line of people seeking power. If I kept on wandering around protecting people, they would come looking for me. So I posed as one of these heroes for a hundred years or so, then I would 'die' in some glorious last stand before changing into the next hero. It was the only way to keep myself out of reach of those seeking my power for their own use."

It made sense. The heroes thought Cinder was bad but at least they had the tech and resources to combat her. They could only imagine what less well adapted people would have done if someone of her ability was around back then.

"Not that I need to do it any more." Axl added, holding his arms behind his head. "With X and Zero out and about, I can go back to being a regular Reploid again."

Zero ruffled Axl's hair a bit in response, much to the teams amusement.

"Besides." He went on. "It looks like we have a couple more heroes and legends in the making right here."

Axl gestured across the room to Team's RWBY and JNPR. Yang stood up and placed her hands on her hips.

"Thanks for the compliment Axl but right now the only one's who are going to be history are Xandria and her lackeys. We've always got room for a few more if you and Zero want to help us."

"She's right." X added. "I know we've only just got the old team back together but we still have a job to do. Are you with us?"

Zero drew his sabre as Axl spun his pistols around his fore fingers before holding them across his chest.

"Just like old times, huh X?" Zero laughed.

"Let's get hunting!" Axl grinned.

 _ **THE MAVERICK HUNTER TRIO IS BACK GUYS! :D**_

 _ **With these three, plus RWBY and JNPR, surely nothing can stop them now right?**_

…

 _ **Right?**_

 _ **Well regardless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I would like to apologise in advance if I don't update for a while, I have a bunch of assignments due in in the next couple of weeks.**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	45. Premonitions and Preparations

_**Gravenimage: BY THEIR POWERS COMBINED!**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: Glad you enjoyed the little scene with Zero and Ruby! As for operators, yeah... they are all kinda... dead? So it's not really possible.**_

 _ **Levi Xavier: Pretty neat way to get him involved, right?**_

 _ **DukesofBoston: Indeed, the next few chapters are more focused on the characters and some light hearted fun. Sort of a calm before the storm :D**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: Axl is very underrated, it's such a shame X7 was his introduction to the Megaman stage, X8 was much more fitting for him.**_

 _ **MetalSonic30: Interesting question. I hadn't actually thought about it but let's see. According to official CAPCOM sources, X is 5'3 (160cm) and putting them side by side, I would say Axl is about the same and Zero is around 5'6 (170cm). Of course, looking at those makes them criminally short (Weiss is about 5'3 for goodness sake and Jaune is near 6'2!) So for this story, I would say X is about 5'9 , Axl around 5'7 and Zero 6'2.**_

 _ **With that sorted, on we go!**_

A hollow whistle of wind blew against Pyrrha's prefect red hair, moving several streaks across her face in a mess of different patterns. She twitched slightly at the sensation but remained still on the ground, her eyes gently shut. A stronger gust kicked up small grains of dirt and dust, spraying them across her face. It was enough to make the Spartan girl wearily open her eyes. Slowly, they flickered open as Pyrrha began to move with a few tired groans.

Getting to her feet, her tired eyes needed only a mere moment to open wide in confusion. The hollow wind and dust that had awoken her from slumber seemed to be all that remained around her. Scanning the landscape, Pyrrha found the ground to be barren and dry, cracks emerging all across it's baked, lifeless surface. She picked up some of the dirt and let it fall through her fingers. It felt coarse, rough and very real.

"Hello?" Her voice echoed in the nothingness around her.

"Jaune? Nora? Ren?" The wind gushing past her was the only response she would receive.

With uncertainty, she began walking, not entirely sure where her destination was. Then again, her location was unknown as well. Where was the base? The forest? The distant city skyline? All the familiar sights she was in mere moments ago were gone. Was this all a dream?

Looking ahead, Pyrrha squinted her vision as she saw something in the distance. Something, or someone was standing atop a rocky pile, their black silhouette contrasted against the burning sun that appeared behind them. Deciding that was as good a place as any to start getting some answers, Pyrrha pressed on.

"Hello? You there!" She called out to the figure, who gave no response or even acknowledgement of her presence.

"Please! Can you help me? Where am I?"

 ***CLANG!** *

With her fixation on the figure, Pyrrha had started to ignore the terrain around her. The clang of metal though, brought her attention back to it. In this barren wasteland, why would there be metal lying around. Curious she took her eyes off the figure and bent down.

An object lay half buried in the dirt. Carefully picking it up, she saw that it was a shield of some kind. She gently rubbed a hand over it, removing the layer of dirt that disguised it's identity.

Her breath left her and her grip as she saw the symbol on the front of it. For there on the face of the shield, atop it's white painted front, were two gold crescents, pointing downwards.

The symbol of Corcea Mors, the weapon of Jaune Arc.

(Insert music: Megaman Zero Collection 3 OST – Dark Elf)

Tearing her eyes away from the weapon revealed a horror that was ten times worse than what she had just witnessed.

Scattered all around the pile where the figure stood, lay the weapons of her friends, all in the same state of disrepair.

Nora's Magnhild lay beside Ren's Stormflowers, the head of the hammer smashed into the earth with impacting cracks surrounding it. Just a few inches away was Weiss' Myrtenaster, stabbed into a rock, the thin blade wobbling gently in the breeze.

A fluttering of fabric caught Pyrrha's attention. Looking at the source of the sound, she saw Blake's Gambol Shroud blades embedded into a broken pillar,the ribbons fluttering from the ends of the swords. Ruby's Scythe rested against the pillar beside it along with Yang's robotic arm.

A sudden clank of metal made the already terrified Pyrrha jump again. She near fainted when X's buster rolled off the pile beside the figure, with most of his upper arm still attached to it. It came to a rest beside Zero's sabre and Axl's handguns.

Falling to her hands and knee's, the dry ground was briefly nourished as tears fell from Pyrrha's cheeks before blowing away into nothingness again. How could this have happened? What had happened? The only person who may know was that figure.

"Did you do this? DID YOU KILL MY FRIENDS?" Pyrrha screamed.

The figure did not look back, nor did they respond yet Pyrrha still heard an answer. A whispering voice, carried on the wind.

" _Yes..."_

"Why?" Pyrrha demanded. "Why would you kill those who have done nothing to you?"

" _... I merely committed that which will come to pass..."_

"You mean... this is only a dream?" Pyrrha asked with relief in her voice.

" _Not a dream...a promise... all of this will come to pass...there is nothing you can do..."_

Pyrrha narrowed her gaze. "We shall see about that. Show your face!" She drew her weapon. "If this is inevitable, then let me gaze upon the one who will bring about my friend's destruction!"

The figure stood still for a few moments before slowly turning on the spot. Their high heels clacked upon the rocks as small stones tumbled down the slope while Pyrrha kept her gaze on the figure's face, determined to see who it was.

Her desire dwindled though, as the figure came into view.

Long, red hair that fluttered in the breeze.

A bronze headpiece upon her forehead.

A javelin in one hand and shield in the other.

"No... it can't be!" Pyrrha whimpered.

" _Look upon the destroyer of your friends. Look upon their fate and know there is nothing that can be done to change your destiny."_

" _Pyrrha Nikos, you will bring doom and despair not just upon your friends, but the world itself!"_

Stumbling back, Pyrrha looked past the figure across a vast chasm, the sight nearly made her choke. Scattered across the landscape, lay hundreds of thousands of dead humans and faunus. Soldiers slumped beside their burning tanks and Bullheads, as did countless Huntsmen with their weapons at their sides. Smoke rose from some of the burning wrecks as once great settlements now crumbled in the skyline.

The only thing that stood tall and proud, was Neo Arcadia itself.

"No..."

"No!"

 _ **Team JNPR's Room**_

"NO!" Pyrrha screamed.

She shot upright in her bed, panting heavily as tears and sweat rolled down her face. Her eyes darted around the room. She briefly and gratefully took in every usual sight her vision covered, using them as comfort to realise that she was back in the real world. She near jumped out of her skin as the door clicked open, she was so on edge.

Jaune came into the room, whistling to himself as he typed into his scroll before placing it back into his pocket.

"Hey Pyrrha! You gotta come... see..."

Jaune's words slowed to a halt as he witnessed his lover's expression, one of fear and sadness. Slowly, he moved over to her bed and sat down close to her. Pyrrha watched his every move, like she wasn't sure if he was really there, before her eyes welled up and she threw her arms around him.

"Woah!" Jaune was taken by surprise by the act.

She held him tightly, burying her head into his shoulder as the young Huntress's sobs were muffled against Jaune's black hoodie. He responded in kind, holding his fiancée close and gently running a hand through her hair.

Whatever Pyrrha had been dreaming about had terrified her, which given how courageous Pyrrha was, meant she must have faced true horror and the evidence was clear. Her hair was greasy with the nervous sweating from her dream, though Jaune didn't care about that minor detail and continued to stroke it to help comfort her. She was also shaking like never before, almost traumatised by the dream.

Of course, this wasn't the first time she had suffered from such nightmares. Before now, Jaune would have always accepted her excuse of it being about the battles or some random thing. Now though, he knew they all correlated and he would get to the bottom of this, no matter how much Pyrrha wanted to hide it.

"Not that I don't enjoy the hugs but, you think you can tell me what's going on?" He asked in his usual light hearted tone.

Pyrrha pulled her head back a little from his shoulder, just enough to let her emerald green eyes be seen, the iris's sparkling from her tears and accentuating their beauty.

"Another nightmare?"

She nodded slightly in response.

"Okay. You gonna give me any more than that?" He pressed on the topic.

Pyrrha simply pushed her head back against him. Much as Jaune knew she didn't want to talk about it, this was a matter that needed sorting quickly. Placing both hands on her shoulders, he gently lifted her away from him, letting the two look at each other face to face.

"This has been going on for weeks Pyrrha, ever since Beacon fell you've been having these dreams. It's not just at night either, you keep drifting off in class, when we meet up, just losing yourself somewhere. Please, just talk to me, tell me what these dreams are about so we can help you."

Her head turned away from his gaze, Pyrrha let her eyes look down at the bed. Sighing, Jaune tenderly cupped her chin and turned her head back towards himself. She didn't fight it, just looked back at him with nervous eyes.

"Please..." He repeated softly. "It doesn't have to go beyond this room. Not to Ren and Nora if you don't want it to but please, just tell me what's going on, what's in these dreams."

Pyrrha couldn't take it any more. That charming, innocent and truthful face had pierced any guard she had put up against the world. Of course he was right, she couldn't keep lying, she couldn't keep running from this. This was a problem she couldn't face alone, so she should at least try facing it with someone beside her.

"The dreams are nothing special." She began. "Just normal dreams about pleasant things. Often about when I was back at Beacon. Sometimes our friends are there, sometimes not. Then they appear."

"Who?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha shook her head. "I don't know who they are exactly but they always do the same thing. They talk about something, something to do with me, but if I try to listen in or talk to them, they tell me to wake up and I do just that."

Jaune seemed puzzled but wanted to hear more, he wanted to let Pyrrha get this off her chest.

"So what made this dream different?"

She seemed to tense up and hesitate at the thought of what she had just witnessed in the land of dreams. Regardless, she pressed on.

"I saw our world... in ruins."

Jaune was surprised to hear that but did not interrupt.

"The cities burned and their smoke blacked out the sky. The land was barren and devoid of life as Remnant's armies lay broken and defeated for as far as I could see. But that wasn't the worst part."

"What was?" He asked nervously.

"I saw someone standing there, surrounded by the weapons of you and our friends. They lay broken, as though abandoned by their wielders. I asked the one responsible who they were, who would bring such devastation upon the world. They revealed themselves and I saw... I saw..."

Pyrrha looked straight back at Jaune as the tears flowed once more.

"...me!"

Needing his comfort once more, Jaune let Pyrrha cry against him again. This time though, Jaune was in disbelief. There was no way Pyrrha would turn against them, so why was she having these dreams, these premonitions?

"I don't want to destroy this world! How could I? How could I turn my back on everyone and everything I care for? How could I ever turn on you?" Pyrrha begged for answers to these questions in between the tears.

"You won't." Jaune answered simply.

Pyrrha shot back up and looked at him.

"The Pyrrha I know would never do anything like that."

"Then how do you explain the dreams?"

Jaune thought for a moment, though he did not know the true answer, he had a pretty good idea as to what it was. Even if he was wrong, it would only make Pyrrha feel better than she already was, surely.

"You were close to Xandria at Beacon, right? Then you went unconcious just as she showed up."

Pyrrha nodded as she wiped her cheek.

"Then she must have done something to make you have these dreams. Think about it, she knows how powerful you are, so she would want to try and stop you from fighting against her. And by putting those thoughts into your head, she was probably hoping to try and make you abandon us."

Pyrrha though about his theory. It did make sense, yet it still seemed that something didn't quite add up.

"How can you be so sure?" Pyrrha asked.

"Because I know you Pyrrha, and I know that no matter what happens, you will do everything you can to protect the ones you care about. It doesn't matter what some silly dreams say you are, those are just thoughts whizzing around your pretty little head."

He pointed to her heart.

"The Pyrrha in here, would never do something like that, and as long as you hold on to what's in there, you never will."

Pyrrha smiled a genuine smile, the first time she had felt at ease for a long time. She wiped her tears off her face and moved closer to Jaune, placing her hands against his cheeks.

"Thank you." She whispered, before their lips met.

Of course Jaune didn't fight it, why the hell would he? They had kissed before of course as lovers but this kiss meant so much more. It didn't feel any different, her breath was still as sweet as ever and her techniques was gentle yet passionate, simply filling both of them with bliss.

What made this kiss different though, was what it showed. Pyrrha had confided in Jaune, she had trusted him with a secret she had kept bottled up for so long. It was a kiss that symbolised their bond, that nothing in this world or any could tear them apart, not Xandria, not anything. If they tried to, they both knew they would fight until the end to preserve the love they held so dear.

Finally breaking apart, the two seemed perfectly content to enjoy being with each other in beautiful silence. Of course they couldn't as there was much that needed to be done. Taking her hand, Jaune gently aided his beloved to her feet.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Almost." Pyrrha said, her face becoming a little more serious.

"I am beyond grateful for being able to be with you Jaune. I trust you, and I know you will hold on to what you have told me. I know you won't let me fall to those dark depths and become what Xandria wants me to... But if I should..."

"Pyrrha, it's not going to hap-"

"Jaune!" She snapped., causing the boy to stop talking. "Please, listen to me. If the unthinkable should ever happen. If I do turn against this world and try to burn it to the ground, be it of my own accord, or Xandria's..."

"..."

"Then I need you to do what you must..."

Jaune couldn't believe what Pyrrha was asking him. How could he do it if it came to that? He loved her, she was everything to him, and she was asking him to do what should never be done if it all went wrong? She was his lover!

And yet, that was the exact reason why she could ask him. Jaune knew that if he truly loved Pyrrha, then he would not let her suffer at the will of the darkness.

"Promise me?" Pyrrha asked.

"Promise." Jaune agreed.

The sadness at the thought of such an event coming to pass did bring their spirits down a little bit, but then again, that's what the Arc charm was for!

"Let's just agree to make that one of our later plans, alright? You're plan A, Ren is plan B, Nora's plan C and that idea is away down at Plan Z. Alright?"

"Can we make you plan B?" Pyrrha giggled. "Ren is nice and all, but I would much rather prefer you."

"Fair enough!" Jaune laughed as he placed an arm around her, holding his girlfriend tightly as they made their way to their friends.

The future was uncertain and unknown. Time's were changing and no one was sure what was going to happen. Now though, Pyrrha and Jaune knew that no matter what happened, they would face it together.

Zero, Axl, X, Team RWBY, Ren and Nora had all gone on ahead while Jaune was seeing to Pyrrha. They were all meeting in the courtyard as there was quite a sight to behold.

The friends stood in awe as a huge number of troops marched past them in white and blue military armour. There were also several tanks roaring by, Paladin-290's stomping as they marched and the deafening roar of fighter jets and bombers overhead, flanking the fleet of airships that hummed above their heads.

"Hey guys! Sorry we're late." Jaune apologised.

"That's alright." Ruby replied, not taking her eyes off the massive weapons that she practically drooled over the sight of.

"Ummmm... what's going on?" Pyrrha asked the obvious question.

"Search me. All I know is that's a lot of military units." Weiss answered.

"Not just Atlesian either! Those fighters and drop ships belong to the Vacuo military and half of those tanks are from Mistral!" Yang added.

It was true, the flags of the various nations were flying on several of the vehicles, as well as some soldiers carrying standards of their associated army.

"Yeah, Winter always had some good connections in the military."

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby squeaked, leaping up to hug him. "What are you doing here?"

"Messenger boy I guess. Those Vacuo soldiers didn't just march all the way here for the sake of it." He took out his flask and downed three shots worth in one swig. "Same thing applies to the Mistral boys, though you can thank Goodwitch for them. She's talking with Winter now, which is where I should be."

"What are they here for?" Zero asked.

"Legendary heroes and prodigal Hunters are all well and good, but we're fighting an army here. Since Beacon, the Reaverbots have been gathering, local villages see them heading to Neo Arcadia like some sort of mass migration, same thing goes for the Grimm."

"Uh oh." Nora gulped.

"Uh oh indeed. Xandria knows what's coming and she's getting her armies ready for war. So if we're going to stand any chance, we have to do the same. Don't worry too much about it for now though, Xandria won't make any sudden moves and it'll take a few days to organise our forces. Take it easy for a few days, before the mother of all battles starts."

With that, Qrow made his way over to Winter and Goodwitch.

"Boy. If they're getting all the armies of Remnant to band together, Xandria must have a huge army." Ruby worried.

"Relax, we can take 'em on no problem." Axl smiled confidently. "We beat her once, we can do it again."

"Much as I like the optimism, Axl, we can't underestimate Xandria." Zero told them all. "She'll have learned from her mistakes last time and her army is twice the size of the one we fought all those years ago. We need to be ready for anything."

 _ **Neo Arcadia – Throne Room**_

"Interesting." Xandria said thoughtfully.

She was seated in the pure white throne room with only her brother, Xevach standing beside her. The two were watching a holographic screen that projected the images from a Reaverbot drone that had flown over the base. It showed the various military units making their way into the courtyard, including a shot of X, Zero, Axl and Teams RWBY and JNPR.

"It seems our little runaway has been found, such a pity those humans found him first. Then again, given Sigma's past efforts, Zero never really was one for obedience, was he?"

"Sister, this is serious." Xevach scolded. "Though the humans lack our technology levels and we have an advantage in numbers, it is still possible, if improbable that they will attack and defeat us successfully. I suggest we use caution and bolster our defenses."

"Caution is for the weak, dear brother. I have a better idea. How long do you estimate it will take them to attack?"

Xevach studied the images. "Based on the numbers arriving, I would estimate between 4 and 6 days until they are in a position to attack."

"Begin preparing our forces to attack. We move out in 24 hours." Xandria ordered.

"Is that wise sister?"

"Do not question me brother! You have your orders, now follow them!" She barked.

"Yes ma'am." Xevach bowed before going to inform the others of the plan.

(Insert music: Megaman Zero 3 Remastered Tracks - Neo Arcadia March (From 0:37))

Xandria began pacing out of the throne room and along a walkway that passed over a gigantic room, stretching down for miles. As she did so, several flying Reaverbots awoke and appeared from the hangars scattered across the walls, flying to their assigned positions. Sharukurusu's and Mammoo's could be heard marching across the floor far beneath her, along with every variety of Grimm imaginable. Beowulves, Ursas, Death Stalkers and Goliaths to name a few.

Coming to a balcony overlooking the city, Xandria stopped and folded her arms as she watched her forces assemble. Each unit was but a mere speck from her vantage point, yet she could hear the army moving and the Grimm snarling loud a clear, such was the sheer number of troops.

Xandria smirked as she observed the scene and the rest of the Aberrant Council arrived to join her in spectating.

"And so it begins." She laughed to herself.


	46. New Feelings

_**I'm on a god damn roll! I really just wanna keep writing this, I'm so close to actually finishing one of these stories!**_

 _ **Well...**_

 _ **When I say close I mean the final arc but anyway.**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: I really need to hire you to do some sort of recap at the start of each story. Can just picture you going "LAST TIME ON AGE OF METAL!" As for Mother Elf, remember that the Zero series events did not happen so she isn't out there.**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: This is Arkos. Lancaster is Ruby x Jaune.**_

 _ **DukesofBoston: Soon and don't worry, Vile ain't gone yet!**_

 _ **Onwards!**_

"Alright, watch and listen closely. Set your rapier to the blue dust setting." Zero began.

Weiss spun the chamber round, letting the mechanism whirr until it clicked into the correct slot on the chamber.

"Now, straighten out your arm but keep it by your side. You're going to leap up and as you do, bring your blade up so that you hold it with both hands. Just before you leave the ground however, press the trigger and carry your momentum through so that you spin around as you jump."

"I understand." Weiss replied.

Zero moved beside her, his Sabre drawn as the two held the same starting pose.

"On my mark. 3... 2... 1..."

" _ **HYOURYUUSHOU!"**_

Synchronising the move perfectly, both Zero and Weiss shot skyward, spinning in the air. Both their weapons glowed blue and powdery ice fell off each blade, small snowflakes falling around them as the attack brought their weapons temperatures to below freezing. Landing gracefully together, Weiss gave a cocky look at Zero.

"You catch on quick." Zero admitted. "Give it a few more tries to get used to it, you could work on the spin a bit. It may seem like it's just for style but it's key if you want good area coverage."

X meanwhile was working with Yang. The blonde brawler was currently practising with her buster cannon. Holding it out in front of herself, she aimed at the target and fired a regular shot.

It missed the target completely, smashing through a nearby stained glass window while Yang fell back bottom first. Getting back up, she rubbed it a bit before her eyes started to glow a tinge of red. This was getting frustrating.

"Packs a punch, doesn't it?" X chuckled. "It'll take a while to get used to but for now, there's a simple solution. Just place your other hand over the top of the buster, like so."

He demonstrated the technique as Yang copied him.

"Now, take aim at the target again and get ready to fire. When you do, push your hand back down on the buster to try and eliminate the recoil. It will move a bit but not enough that you get knocked over."

Yang closed on eye as she looked down the barrel of her arm cannon. With her target confirmed, she placed a hand over the top and pressed down on the cannon.

 ***PEW***

A yellow pellet whizzed out of the barrel of the gun and zipped off in a straight line before impacting on the centre of the target, leaving a burn mark on the bullseye.

"YES!" Yang cheered, fist pumping the air.

"You got it! With a little practice you'll be able to do those shots without supporting the cannon, like so."

X drew his cannon and fired it without holding onto it, the shot hit the exact same position as Yang's. Much to her amazement.

"Keep working on your recoil control, then we'll move on to using charge shots, alright?"

"Got it. Thanks for the help." Yang replied before firing a few more shots down the range.

Both X and Zero made their way over to the sides of the training arena where Axl was waiting. Looking at each other as they did so, Zero made a joke wipe of his brow, pointing back at Weiss. X stifled a laugh so she would not notice. The two sat back on the benches at the side of the arena and watched their friends practice.

Weiss was getting much better with the techniques Zero had taught her. They seemed to fit her fighting style of precision and grace, each one needing perfection to be used properly. That of course, was something Weiss strove to achieve anyway.

Yang's was a simple case of adjustment. Her replacement arm would take some getting used to and there was no finer shot with a buster than X himself so it made sense for him to teach her how to utilize it properly. In time she may be able to use dust rounds and charge shots but the basics would do for now.

"She's a bit boastful but she's got skills." Zero told X, regarding Weiss.

"Look at it this way, she's got the confidence to try these techniques even though they are so advanced."

"Advanced doesn't even describe it. No human should be capable of pulling off these moves, let alone a teenage girl."

"You have a problem with it?" X asked.

"No, not a problem, I'm just curious is all. I mean 8000 years is a long time, don't get me wrong but it doesn't allow for the evolution of such abilities or traits like the Faunus have in such a time frame. So how on earth did humanity evolve so fast outside of Neo Arcadia?"

X had to accept that much. It was a mystery that no one really knew the answer to. No human records from the time were detailed enough to answer the question. X and Zero had no memory of it from their time in the capsules and Axl was absent from the trio for a while before they were sealed away. According to Axl though, he saw nothing that would give them any clue as to the origins of the humans powers.

Rather than dwell on it, X scanned across the room as Team RWBY trained. Ruby and Blake were indeed present but since they were not the focus of the Reploid's training programmes, they were content to practice their fighting skills in a one on one duel.

If anything, the three legends could learn a thing or two from the girls. Ruby's speed was unmatched, even for X's dash moves and Axl's natural agility, neither could compare to her lighting quick strikes which lacked none of the power required.

Blake's ability was similar to the soul body in X's arsenal, yet she seemed to have a greater degree of control over it than he had. Unlike X, who could simply make a copy that mimicked his every move, Blake could seemingly give her copies a degree of independent movement. Whether X and his friends could learn from that was unknown but it was certainly impressive.

Then again, so much about her was. Even in something as brutal as fighting, Blake had an air of beauty about her. Her fluid movements wove together like a dance and X found he kept on watching her fights more and more.

He would admit that she was beautiful. Her black hair shining against the light, the sharp and striking yellow in her eyes and her slender and elegant figure. Yet it was not just her looks. What X really saw, was her personality, her spirit. She was a girl who only wanted what was best for everyone. Someone who had made mistakes and wanted to set things right. That was something X not only respected, but admired in her.

Ordinary programming within X told him that these were the traits that humans looked for in beauty, yet it was not his programming that told him this was so. Rather, he felt all this from his emotional core. These were feelings he could honestly say he had not felt before and, to be honest, he wasn't sure exactly what they were.

"Enjoying the show, X?" Zero asked.

"What? Oh... oh yeah they're... very impressive."

"You mean Blake's very impressive?" Axl teased.

"What do you mean?"

"Dude, you've been watching her non stop for the whole training session, save for when you were working with Yang! See something you like? OW!"

Zero gave Axl a quick slap across the back of the head.

"Don't be so rude, Axl. Besides, I've seen you watching Weiss. Didn't think you'd get along with her given your polar opposite personalities."

Axl waved his hands in front of his face, embarrassed. "Woah! Nononono! You've got the wrong guy there! And what do you mean by polar opposites?"

Zero gave a small humf. "Please, she is heiress to one of the biggest companies in the world, comes from a rich family and has the etiquette to match. You're a loudmouth prankster who blasts the first thing he sees with a par of handguns."

"What can I say, opposites attract." Axl responded.

"So, you admit it then?" Zero teased.

"I refuse to say any more without my lawyer being present."

"You don't have a lawyer."

"Exactly! Check and mate!"

Zero rolled his eyes before all the scrolls in the room buzzed loudly. Team RWBY holstered their weapons as Ruby threw her arms up in joy.

"Lunchtime! By which I mean cookie time!"

With that, she zoomed off down the hall at full speed, filling the hall with rose petals, several of which got stuck in Zero and Axl's hair, much to Zero's annoyance.

"Great, they got stuck under my head piece, it's gonna take forever to get them out!"

"Um... you do know we can take these off, right?" Axl reminded him, much to everyone's surprise.

"We can?" X asked.

"Yup, it's a small upgrade you made for us years ago. I think it was for a stealth mission to help us blend in. Here, lemme show ya."

Axl took of his helmet to reveal a spiky mess of ginger hair. Apparently, the piece that stuck out the back was not a ponytail, but rather all his hair squeezed into one spot. As a result, it sprung back to it's original state instantly once the helmet was removed.

"Suits you well." Weiss complimented, not looking at Axl directly for some reason.

"Alright, let's give this a go." Zero removed his, as well as pulling out the blue band that held his ponytail up.

The result was long, wavy blonde locks that could even rival Yang's. Though judging from the 'meow' she gave, it didn't seem like she was jealous in any shape or form, if anything she was impressed. Zero began wiping the petals out of his hair.

"Your turn X."

"Why? I don't have any petals in mine."

"It's only fair, come on." Axl goaded him on.

"Fine, fine." X shushed them, giving in with a sigh as he took his blue and cyan helmet off.

His hair wasn't as flamboyant as his companions. Chocolate brown with short spikes all the way through it. Nothing much for any normal person to look at but when placed on X, it just seemed to suit him perfectly. I gave him a more sweet and caring look that matched his personality. Though his helmet was cool and all, it was somewhat intimidating and emphasised his robotic nature. With the hair, he seemed more... human like, in a good way.

"Aw! That makes you look so cute, X!" Yang cooed, pinching the Reploid's cheek.

"It certainly makes you a lot more approachable." Weiss added.

"Blake, anything to add?" Yang asked.

"It does make you look very handsome."

Immediately, she blushed and repeated the sentence she wanted everyone to hear, looking away and twiddling her hair absently as she did so.

"I mean... it looks very handsome ON you... y'know... like each of your hairstyles does... eh heh heh!"

"WILL YOU GUYS HURRY UP?! I'M STARVING!" Ruby called back from down the hall.

"Right, we better get going. C'mon let's go." Zero said, leading the group after Ruby.

Weiss seemed to make an effort to stay near Axl, though not too near. Blake just gave a nervous smile, which X happily replied with his own genuine one.

 _ **Mess Hall**_

"Man, this place got a heck of a lot busier since those army guys showed up."

Ruby wasn't kidding. The entire hall was packed with the usual mix of Hunters and Atlas army personnel. Now of course, they had to share with the armies of Vacuo and Mistral too. Fortunately, she had managed to get her hands on a few bunches of cookies before they were gone and was covering them protectively with her arms. One soldier foolishly tried to pinch one and was met with Ruby snarling in his face.

"This is a disaster waiting to happen!" She whimpered. "Zero, do you know how to bake cookies?"

Zero kept fiddling with his buster cannon, not looking at Ruby as he answered.

"I'm an advanced combat and weapons based Reploid, not an easy bake oven."

"What about Axl?"

"Seriously? He'd just eat them as soon as he made them."

"Thaff not roo!" Axl said with his mouth full of one of Ruby's cookies.

Realising what had happened, she promptly pounced on him and started punching him into the ground. You couldn't really see what she was doing under the table but it was bouncing around, making all the food on there move too and Axl's girlish screams let anyone nearby know what was happening was not good.

"Stop whinging Axl, you've been through worse." Zero said to the side while he flicked through a paper he had gotten from somewhere.

"Speaking of being through worse." Jaune began as a crack was heard, followed by Axl emitting a high pitched noise of some description.

"Zero?"

"Hm?"

"I just wanted to know, we've heard all these stories but, is it true about you and X's partnership?"

"Depends what he's been saying."

Ruby finally pulled herself back up to her seat, leaving Axl twitching on the ground. Waving her hair back to it's proper place, she joined in.

"Yeah. I've mostly seen you in kind of a bad light, though I'm partially responsible for that but X told us how you and him were legendary partners at one point in time. Is it true?"

"Heh." Zero closed the paper. "Well I'm not one to brag but as an S class hunter, I was one of the best around. I wouldn't have been anywhere as close though without X. Despite being just a B class hunter, he surpassed all expectations."

Zero leaned back, recalling the memories well.

"When he first joined the Maverick Hunters, we all immediately saw that he wasn't much of a fighter. I took him under my wing, maybe out of pity at the time but I knew there was something about X that would make him a great Hunter and a great peace keeper. It wasn't until our second mission, after he rebuilt me, that I realised what that was."

"What was it?" Jaune asked.

"He had heart." Zero answered before explaining himself.

"Every single Hunter in that base was made to be a fighter. They were designed and ordered to go and defend the world from Mavericks. X though, we knew he wasn't a fighter, heck HE knew he wasn't a fighter. But he also knew that he couldn't just stand by and watch innocents get hurt."

Everyone was just listening silently as Zero continued.

"That was the big difference between X and the other Hunters. X was fighting for a cause that he believed in. He was fighting for a better world and no matter how much it hurt, no matter how long he would have to fight for, he knew in his heart that he would never, ever give up until there was peace."

Zero seemed to stare into nothingness for a few moments, recalling some memories within himself. He shook his head slowly.

"And boy, did it hurt at times."

The Beacon teams suddenly felt terrible. Unintentionally, they had dug up a lot of bad memories for Zero. They had all heard X's story of how Zero was destroyed, forced to kill the girl he cared for most of all, used as a weapon to destroy the world and yet still he fought on.

"You say all that about X but, you really should give yourself some credit Zero." Ruby said quietly. "I mean, you've done no less. You've got as much heart as X and it shows."

Zero chuckled. "Heh, guess I do, and you know what?"

"Hmm?"

"I see the same thing in every one of you."

A few looks were exchanged between the teams as Zero's words sunk in. They soon realised how right he was though. They could have easily given up but through it all; through the pain, the loss and the suffering, none of them had called it quits, none of them had given up.

"So to answer your question; yes, we are legendary partners. But it wasn't my skill with a blade that made it so. It was the bond we shared, and the belief that what we were doing meant something."

"Guess that's why we all work so well together." Yang added.

"Medic..." Axl wheezed, holding an arm up for them to see.

 _ **Medical Bay – 10 minutes later**_

"Oh Weiss! My hero!" Axl mockingly gushed, placing the back of his hand against his forehead and swooning.

"Just be quiet while we fix you up." Weiss grumbled as she examined Axl's armour.

It wasn't badly damaged, just had a multitude of dents and buff in it from Ruby's punches. Axl lay back down on one of the beds, placing his arms behind his head and sighing in relaxation.

"It's your own fault you know, no one takes one of Ruby's cookies and gets away with it."

"Hey, it was worth a shot!" Axl laughed.

"Honestly, you are such a child!" Weiss fumed as she got out a few tools. "Stay still, this shouldn't take too long."

The two were silent for a little bit, the only sound being Weiss working away to repair the dents in Axl's armour while the Reploid himself whistled away and let hi eyes wander around the room.

"Can I ask you something?" Axl wondered.

"Depends what it is. Can you hold that part for a second please?"

Axl took hold of the armour covering while he talked.

"Why are you so uptight all the time? OW!"

As soon as he had asked the question, Weiss had given his internal leg motor a whack with the hammer she was holding, staring daggers at him all the while.

"Care to ask that again?" She muttered.

"I mean, you call me a kid but, that's exactly what you are. You're only seventeen, you're still at school for crying out loud. You're other teammates seem to be enjoying their time here but every time I saw you back at the Schnee mansion, you were always moping or studying or training. You never let yourself have any fun. Why?"

Weiss shrugged as she worked on.

"Didn't see the point of it. Plus I didn't really have the time, what with my family and all. Being the daughter of a wealthy businessman means you have to travel a lot so, what time I did have I used for studying and training. All to meet my father's expectations."

"You rejected them though. You ran away from that prison and now you're free. At least, you're physically free anyway."

Weiss paused her work and looked at Axl, her eyes revealing some worry in her mind and Axl knew exactly what it was about.

"I know what you're going through." Axl began. "You feel guilty, you've still got attachments to your family even though you know that they've done you wrong. I was just the same with Red Alert."

Weiss wasn't expecting a chirpy boy like Axl to have a bad history. "What happened?"

"Red Alert was a vigilante group. We basically picked up the pieces that the Maverick Hunters missed. Our intentions were noble, even if they were a bit more brute force and technically illegal. Red, the leader, found me and trained me up to work with them. It was only after Sigma, who I didn't know about at the time, took over the place that I realised I had to cut ties with Red Alert."

Weiss smiled sadly. "Sounds familiar."

"I ended up joining the Maverick Hunters, kind of like how you joined Beacon. We both had the same reasons, we wanted to do the right thing but I still felt guilty about abandoning Red, so I went after him."

Axl actually frowned as one of the more painful memories came back. It was unusual to see him so sad, even in the small amount of time Weiss had known him.

"When I finally caught up with him, Red had been backed into a corner by Sigma. We greeted each other as friends, even though we both knew there was only one way it was gonna go down. We had to fight each other and, well... you can guess how that went."

Weiss nodded.

"I'll admit." Axl went on. "I did the same thing as you at first. I let the guilt stay with me, wondered if I could have done anything more to save them. Over time though I realised, I couldn't, and even if I could have, it wouldn't do any good now. I realised something."

Axl placed a hand on Weiss' shoulder. The girl gasping lightly as he did so.

"You can't let the past rule over your life forever. You can't let it drag you down and hold you prisoner. You just have to keep moving forward, to make sure that nothing like it happens again. I dedicated my life as a Maverick Hunter not just because it was the right thing, but so others wouldn't suffer the same fate that me and my friends had."

"Your father will always hold on to his expectations, and your family will always hold on to their values of perfection and control over others. You've already said you don't believe in them and I know it seems tough to just leave them all behind, but if they won't change, you'll have to let them go. If you don't you'll never truly be free."

Weiss shook her head. "They're my family though, how can I just abandon them like that?"

"Are they though?" Axl responded.

"Is your family that man how beat you if you didn't perform well enough at school? Is your family the mother who was never there, never willing to comfort you? Is it your brother who would do anything to undermine your position as heir to the company?"

Axl looked over to the door, Weiss following his eyes to the same place. Outside, they could hear their friends laughing and messing around, a few silhouettes passing by the blurred glass as they carried on their horseplay.

"Family isn't those you're related to by blood, Weiss. A family cares for you, helps you grow stronger, supports you when you need it most. They celebrate with you in times of joy and are sad with you in the bleakest of moments."

Weiss was starting to understand the wisdom of Axl's words.

"I never knew who my creator was or if any other Reploids were made with me, so some people might say I don't have a family. But thinking about who took me in and gave me a chance to prove myself, I'm not so sure those people were right."

The two smiled as the truth washed over Weiss. Axl was right. Her family was right here, with Winter, her team, friends and teachers. Axl quickly shifted back to his jokey tone for his next point.

"Plus, all of that explains why you stick around with much. I mean, I am the fun one out of us three!"

Weiss went bright red, turning her head back to her work to hide the blushing from Axl.

"Just because you're a joker doesn't mean I like you you know!" She shouted.

Axl got confident. "If that's so then when do you hang around me so much? Why did you volunteer to take me to the medical room? Would it happen to be because we would be alone in here?" He teased.

"Shut it, or I stick this hammer where the sun don't shine!" Weiss called back.

"Didn't hear a no." Axl said to himself.

 _ **AW! Mushy mushy stuff!**_

 _ **Next chapter will be a bit more of this and will see the return of a couple of fan favourites.**_

 _ **Enjoy the peace though, because after this, the build up to the final battle will be coming!**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	47. Secrets of the Past

_**Gravenimage: Kept ya waiting, huh?**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: Was really trying to get that across, they aren't just robots, Reploids are so much more than that. As for Zero, I think I might leave him be for now, he's been through a lot. Maybe in the sequel?**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: Again, by the end is near I mean the last arc is starting. That may take a while to get through though.**_

 _ **MrtheratedG: That confusion should hopefully be addressed here as I go into a bit more detail with one particular pairing.**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Sweet! I got free advertising on the metro! Does that mean you live in France? Cos the UK has no Metro.**_

 _ **DukesofBoston: Funnily enough, this story started out as a Four Guardians one before the re-write! I am definitely going to put them in the sequel though, or maybe their ZXA counterparts.**_

 _ **Onwards!**_

*Drip*

…

*Drip*

Neo twitched slightly as small water droplets fell upon her face. Her eyes were still shut as her deep sleep was only slowly broken by the cool liquid falling on her face.

*Drip*

A final splash made her open her eyes with a sudden shock. Sitting straight up, she found herself on a bed of some kind. Not a typical bed, but one that was more like a medical bed, with it's pillows and cushioning anchored to the chair itself. She rubbed her eyes gently and began looking around the room.

The walls were decorated with a mix of hexagonal shaped tile patterns. Upon some of them were larger hexagons of a different colour and on these were groups of three crystal like objects, each displaying some lines of information like a computer screen. The door too was adorned with this pattern on it's surface.

Steadily rising to her feet, Neo saw no sign of anyone anywhere. Realising it would do little to no good to stick around here, she headed towards the door. It opened as soon as she approached it, splitting down the middle as the doors parted either side and retracted into the walls.

She stepped into a similar looking room, though this one had several more water leaks coming from the ceiling. Luckily, Neo had her weapon with her and popped open her umbrella shield for use as it's normal counterpart. She continued to look around this new place in amazement. Where was she? And who brought her here? The only one she was with when she was last awake was...

"Morning, kiddo."

Neo jumped and turned at the sound of the voice, aiming her umbrella at the figure. She lowered it quickly however upon recognising the purple armour.

"How are you feeling?"

Neo opened her mouth to speak but remembered she was mute. She gestured with a thumbs up but then pointed to the side of her head and tapped it gently with a closed fist.

"If a headache is all you've got after what you went through, I don't think that's too bad. By the way, I know sign language if that's any help."

It was as Neo often communicated with others by sign language.

" _What happened?"_ She signed.

"Simply put, we got our asses handed to us. After we kidnapped Blake, X came along and beat you up pretty badly. He did the same to me too. Remember? Anyway, I got you out of there and brought you here. No need to thank me."

After saying that, Neo certainly did though she sorely wish she didn't. She seemed genuinely scared by what she was remembering. Her lip quivered and shook a little.

"What is it, kid?"

" _Vile, I want out of this whole thing."_ She quickly waved her hands to motion the sentence.

"What?"

" _I'll come clean. I never wanted to go after X and his friends, not genuinely at least."_

"Why stick with me then?"

Neo looked down at her feet sadly before answering.

" _You were the only one who actually gave a damn about me."_

Vile was pretty glad he had a helmet at that point, because he couldn't really bare to look her in the eye. The whole time that Neo had been with him, he had been quit passive with her. He was nice but only because he ignored her most of the time. Yet this girl believed he had cared for her? He actually felt guilty.

"You lost me." Vile replied, hiding his surprise.

" _I didn't join Cinder willingly, I was never given a choice."_

"So... what happened?"

Neo sighed as she told her tale.

" _I never knew my parents, they abandoned me when I was little and left me on the streets. I got by through stealing and pick pocketing. I had a small gang I worked with but never what you would call friends. They were just a way to get some quick cash."_

" _One night, we targeted a White Fang base. My crew got sloppy and alerted some sentries to our presence. We tried to make our way back out through one of the high windows. I lost my footing and one of my friends caught me by the arm. I could hear them coming, we all could. I remember looking up at him, seeing what he was thinking and begging them not to do it."_

" _He did it anyway. He let me go while they all ran off without me."_

Neo's sadness turned to anger at the memory, if only for a few seconds but Vile was able to see the hurt in her eyes. Abandonment, betrayal and she was only a child. How could it get much worse than that?

He would find out as she carried on.

" _As misfortune would have it, Cinder was in the base at the time. She saw my skills as I tried to fight off some of her White Fang guards. After that brief and pointless stuggle, they brought me before her, on my knees as blood poured from my mouth. She gave me an offer."_

" _Work with me, repay this little debt, or I kill you. I don't take kindly to trespassers."_

Being held hostage, as Cinder Fall's slave. Yup, that would just about do it. Neo had had a much harder life than Vile had ever imagined. She still was not done though as the sorrry story continued.

" _She partnered me up with Roman and his little pets; Emerald and Mercury. They were... less than friendly, to say the least. They had me do all the risky jobs, never helped me if I needed it and beat and ridiculed me if I messed up. I spent that whole time under their heels, knowing I was just a kid and couldn't do anything!"_

She began to tear up as the images burned in her mind. The mocking laughter and the brutal attacks with fists, feet and weapons alike. Vile knelt down to her level.

"Hold up a minute. I've seen you fight, you've got skills, why didn't you try to take them on?"

" _I did, believe me I did. The result was always the same though. Defeat, humiliation and a beating ten times worse than the fight. But what could I do? I couldn't run, they would just hunt me down. I didn't know what to do until... until you arrived."_

Now that was something new to Vile. Someone was actually happy that he had showed up? It was pretty new feeling for him. He didn't say that though, just let Neo explain herself.

" _When you arrived I didn't know who you were. I didn't know about your past or your history with X. I saw how you were annoyed at the prospect of working with Cinder so I assumed you were like me. I assumed you were someone unwilling who Cinder had conned into working for her."_

"So that's why you followed me around so much." Vile deduced.

Neo nodded. _"I saw you as an ally, a way out. But the more I stuck around with you, the more I realised you were something I had never had before. You were... a friend."_

There was the kicker. All this time that Vile had been passing Neo off as annoying, she had been reaching out to him. The funny thing was, after everything he had done, all that time spent destroying lives and wanting X to be destroyed by his hand.

Vile actually felt sorry for Neo.

Why though? Why would he feel pity for this human of all things? She was weak, she had been used by others and was incapable of escaping of her own accord. In the past, Vile would have seen all these qualities and deemed that person worthy of nothing but dying. Yet now, he didn't.

The only explanation was...

Vile brought up a HUD on the inside of his helmet. Using it, he checked through his systems, all of them.

 _ **ALL SYSTEMS FUNCTIONING AT 100%**_

Normally, that would be exactly what any Reploid wanted to hear. To Vile though, this piece of seemingly good news had other repercussions. The whole reason he was the way he had been, was due to his personality chip having an irreparable glitch in it. No matter how many times he was brought back, it had dictated him to be nothing more than a tool of destruction for whoever used him.

Now though, Neo Arcadia had brought him back to do their bidding, but they had unknowingly, set him free. He was no longer a puppet of chaos, he was free to follow his own will like he was meant to. And right now, his will told him that he was Neo's last hope, and he was fine with that.

While he had been there thinking, Neo had just been watching him, waiting to see how he would respond to her request to back out. She had seen what the old Vile was like, hence why she was so nervous. First thing he had to do then, was show her he meant no harm.

Vile slowly approached her, his shadow looming over the top of Neo, making her shrink slightly as she couldn't see his intentions behind the visor. Vile held his arms out slightly and Neo flinched in anticipation of a blow to finish her in one fell swoop.

She felt his metal arms around her, but there was no pressure. He wasn't strangling her or crushing her. Instead, he was hugging her. She wasn't sure what to make of this, Vile hadn't shown this side of himself before. She tapped his shoulder and he moved back before she motioned.

" _You aren't mad?"_

Vile shook his head. "Not at all... friend."

Upon hearing those words, Neo returned the hug with tears in her eyes.

"You're whole life, you never had anyone to turn to. A life of loneliness, of being used by others. Not any more kid."

If Neo made any noises, she would be bawling right now. Her hunch had been proven right, she finally had someone who cared about her. It was all she had wantedh er whole life. And unknowingly, she had given the same to Vile.

Finally breaking off, the two stood, simply laughing joyfully for a few moments, though Neo's was more whispery giggles, until Neo asked the next question.

" _Where are we anyway?"_

"A good question which I don't have a good answer to. It was listed in my location bank that Xandria oh so kindly gave to me when I was reactivated. Since you're up and about though, wanna go explore? I always find it easier to think while on the move."

Neo nodded so much Vile thought her head would pop off. Running after Vile as they moved out, she tapped him on the shoulder and asked another question.

" _Think about what?"_

Vile chuckled. "What we do next. For the first time, we have no one controlling us. We're free to choose what we do and that is a decision not to be taken lightly. Now come on, let's go see what this place is!"

Vile gave Neo a pat on the head and headed off into the unknown, with the girl following him gleefully.

 _ **5 minutes later**_

The facility was not that big and not too major from what Vile could see. Most of the rooms were like the one he had placed Neo in, medical bays along with a few storage rooms and the usual conveniences of kitchens and bathrooms. The water leaking in from the surface didn't help much either as the duo made their way towards the centre of the complex.

" _For a secret underground facility, there isn't much to see, is there?"_ Neo signed with a bored expression on her face.

"All the more reason to be suspicious. If this is just a medical facility, why would Xandria list it as a key location?" Vile retorted.

Coming up to a larger set of doors, the duo realised that this may be what they had been looking for. Neo stepped up to the door, expecting it to open. Instead, she bashed straight into it when it refused to let her proceed. She rubbed her nose gingerly.

"Allow me." Vile laughed, cracking his knuckles.

Thrusting his fingers into the small gap between the doors, he strained as he pulled them apart, the door mechanisms forcing him to struggle and put all of his might into the task. A final snap was heard as the doors mechanisms broke and they slid open on their runners with ease.

(Insert music: Megaman Legends 2 – Mother Zone/Elysium Library)

Neo peered in and could see straight away that this room was different. More advanced computers, operating tools and several strange items floating in cylinders filled with bubbling liquids.

"Jackpot." Vile said as the two entered and began investigating.

" _What is this place?"_ Neo asked, scanning her eyes across the equipment present in the room.

"Lab of some kind. Hasn't been used in a long time though." Vile answered as he scanned some of the surfaces.

" _How long?"_

"7 or 8 thousand years? Least that's what my carbon dating shows. Most likely back when X was in charge of Neo Arcadia. Question is, what was he doing here?"

Vile pondered the situation while Neo moved over to the tubes. They stretched from the table right up to the ceiling and had several strange devices floating in them, bronze in colouration with fleshy growths over the top of some kind of mechanical components. They were only about the size of her fingertip and hundreds floated gently in each tube.

She tapped Vile's shoulder. " _What are these?"_

Vile stared into the tubes for a few moments, speculating what they were before realisation came over him.

"Bio-chips?" He asked in slight disbelief.

" _The hell is a Bio-chip?"_

Vile folded his arms and watched the chips floating as he spoke.

"Standard issue data chips that have been modified to be implanted into biological beings and work in them. Substitutes the wires with the nervous system and the CPU core with a human brain. It was only prototype technology when I was sealed away, probably studied at Xandria's request. Why though?"

Neo had about as much of a clue as Vile did. Still letting her eyes wander at the sights around her, she sat down on one of the control consoles.

 ***CLICK** *

As she did so though, she sat on a button and the room instantly darkened. She leapt straight back up in realisation as the lights dimmed.

"Did you touch something?!" Vile demanded.

" _Accidentally!"_

"You need to be careful, we don't know what any of... this... does..."

Neo wondered why Vile had stopped his speech halfway through his sentence. Turning to look in the direction he was, she saw a blue holographic projection appear in the middle of the room. A projection of X, still wearing his initial outfit from Neo Arcadia.

"I take it back, touch whatever you want in future. You've just found us some answers." Vile changed his tone as the two watched the message.

" _ **If you are watching this message, then it means you've come looking for answers. Answers to the past, answers to why the humans and faunus have evolved the way they will do and, while I would rather have these secrets remain buried, I know that there is a chance someone will find this facility someday. That is why I have left this recording to give you answers."**_

"I wonder how he'd feel about this if he knew it was found by a girl accidentally activating it with her butt." Vile laughed, causing Neo to pout.

" _ **By undertaking the actions I am taking now, I know I am drastically altering the natural evolutionary process. However, the events that have transpired have left me with no choice."**_

" _ **Neo Arcadia has fallen. Xandria and her armies have destroyed the city and a large number of humans, along with almost all Reploids. Humanity is no longer safe within the confines of Neo Arcadia and thus, I must let them go while I deal with Xandria."**_

" _ **I am no fool however. The outside world is a dangerous place and humanity has not faced such struggles for a long time. I fear that they will not be able to adapt and survive quickly enough on their own, given the threats of Xandria's armies and her creations she has called 'Grimm'. That is why I am giving humanity one last gift."**_

 _ **I have used my powers to protect humans and Reploids for as long as I have lived. I do not intend to let that change."**_

" _ **I am implanting Bio-chips into capable humans before they leave for the wilderness. The chips contain data on my own abilities and weapons. Not only with this give the current humans the abilities required to survive, but it will also be passed down genetically through their children."**_

" _ **Humanity will change, in ways I cannot foresee or predict. In doing so though, they will be strong enough to survive without Reploid assistance. They will be able to live on in their own world. They will survive. The initial humans, aside from their obvious abilities will suffer no adverse side effects. The only alteration that will prove obvious is a change in the pigmentation of their iris."**_

" _ **Every altered human, will bear silver eyes."**_

Of course, the first thought that struck Neo's mind was Ruby. The Legend of the Silver Eyes. It was true!

"So. Every single Hunter alive today got their powers from X himself. Have to admit, that was well thought out on X's part." Vile seemed impressed.

" _What about Ruby?"_ Neo asked.

"If I had to guess, her eye colour indicates she has a concentration of the ability genes within her. That's why only a few modern Hunters have silver eyes, and why they get an increased power level."

" _This is huge! This is the discovery of the century!"_

"Yeah, suppose it is. We'll have to worry about it later though."

Vile pointed to the ceiling above their heads. "Anyone else hear marching?"

(Insert music: Megaman Zero 3 Remastered OST – Forbidden Ark)

The small hatch that granted access to the underground lab creaked open ever so slightly. Vile's visor and Neo's eyes barely visible as they peered around the open plains. The once grassy and peaceful surroundings now covered with the moving mass of Reaverbots and Grimm.

The larger Grimm had carrier units on their backs, holding on to some smaller Reaverbots, awaiting activation at the battleground. Other more rabid Grimm were being held by chains that some Sharukurusu's were holding on to to prevent them running rampant.

"Jesus, that's Xandria's entire army!" Vile whispered.

" _Looks like they are heading for Patch Island."_

"Then once they've passed, that's where we're going."

" _Why?"_ Neo asked.

"An old friend made me an offer a while ago. I'm gonna take him up on it. They're going to pay for making me their puppet all these years." Vile vowed as he carefully closed the hatch and waited for the army to pass by.

 _ **Resistance Base – Team RWBY's Room**_

"This is so freaking adorable!" Yang squeaked as she danced around the room giddily.

"I keep telling you, it was a slip of the tongue." Blake repeated for the umpteenth time.

"And I keep telling you that I don't buy that. Face it Blake, you've let the cat out of the bag. Your secret is out, and that secret is that you've got the hots for X!"

Blake buried her face into a nearby pillow.

"Me and my big mouth." She mumbled.

Ruby shoved Yang out of the way, the blonde landing with a thud on the floor.

"All puns aside, what's the big deal? Honestly, I think you two make a cute couple. Plus, X must see something similar, we all saw how he was watching you in training. It's not weird to have a crush on someone. Ren likes Nora, Pyrrha loves Jaune and Weiss has a thing for Axl."

"I DO NOT!" She protested.

"Ah, ah ,ah! We shall discuss that later." Ruby shushed Weiss with a wave of her finger.

"I don't get it." Yang said, getting back on to her feet and wiping herself down. "You obviously like him and I'm sure he wouldn't say no, heck, we have evidence to say he likes you just as much, so what's the problem?"

"What would he see in me?" Blake asked. "He's a legendary hero that everyone adores. He's saved this world more times than we can comprehend, so why would he be interested in me? A regular Huntress who used to be a terrorist. A girl who led him into danger because she was foolish enough to dream that someone who had openly betrayed her might be willing to change just because she wanted them to."

Blake tightened her grip on the pillow she was laying on, nearly tearing it.

"I've been nothing but trouble for him, so why would he want to be with me?"

Yang and Ruby shuffled about awkwardly. They were not expecting Blake to beat herself up so much over this and, truth be told, they didn't really know how to respond. So they stayed silent.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Blake said flatly.

…

 ***SLAM** *

"You complete and utter dolt."

Ruby and Yang practically had heart attacks when Weiss spoke up with those opening words. She had been writing away before smashing the pen down on the table and staring straight at Blake.

"You honestly think he cares about any of that?"

Weiss peered out of the window and watched X as he chatted away to some of the other soldiers in the base, laughing with them.

"He's not even from this time, he was woken up and asked to help in a fight that wasn't even his but did he care? No!"

"He was faced with the prospect of losing us to Zero unless he fought him, but did he back down? No!"

"He was willing to go into Vile's fortress alone, face down his oldest rival and Adam Taurus just to bring you back safely. He didn't care that you were once part of the White Fang! Hell, he was even impressed that you had the courage, the heart to see the good in someone like Adam, even if that faith was misplaced!"

"So don't you dare ask us what he would see in you and don't you dare knock yourself down with those sob stories! X sees in you what we all see. A girl who may have made mistakes, but who has the best interests of everyone at heart and is willing to give up everything to do the right thing!"

Blake was nearly crying at her friends words. Not tears of sadness but tears as she realised the genuine truth behind Weiss' words.

"Don't you see. You strive to be like him, a hero, a protector of the innocent. Yet X, he aspires to be what you are, Blake. Not perfect, not a ruler or a saviour, just someone who does what they can for those they care about."

Weiss sat back down and carried on with her writing as the words sunk in to the rest of the team.

"By the way." She added. "He's heading for the barracks if you're going to catch up with him."

Blake sprang to her feet and headed for the door. She reached out to grab it, only to have her hand stop as the team heard something in the distance.

 ***STOMP***

…

 ***STOMP***

…

 ***STOMP** *

"You hear that?" Ruby said softly.

As soon as she said that, an alarm blared throughout the base and team RWBY grabbed their weapons.

 _ **WARNING! WARNING! LARGE ENEMY UNIT SPOTTED! ALL TROOPS AND HUNTERS TO YOUR STATIONS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! REPEAT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!**_

The sound of gunfire began to ring out in the distance, followed by a few explosions as Xandria's forces began their attack on the outer defences.

"Battle now, confession of undying love later! Let's go girls!" Ruby ordered as they ran out of the room.

Xandria stepped over a few of the soldier's bodies as her army pushed forward. Snarling Beowulves charging in first, followed by Gorubeshu's firing their guns wildly. Both sides suffering on respective ends of gunfire and blade strikes.

"Kill all that you find, but bring me X, alive! GO!"

The battle of Patch Island had begun.

 _ **IT BEGINS! I updated pretty quickly but now I really have to focus on assignments (Even though that's what I said two chapters ago!)**_

 _ **What will happen in this grand battle? Will Xandria's army overrun and crush the Resistance? What is her fascination with X? And what about Vile? What is his next move?**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	48. First Strike

_**Thus, the battle for Patch Island begins! Reviews first though.**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: I'm loving the recaps so far mate, maybe I'll compile them at the end of the story, sort of like an extras thing!**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: Final strike? You madman!**_

 _ **MrtheratedG: That is true I suppose, but lets be honest, no one who falls in love with someone else thinks about that loved one dying. They just enjoy the time they have.**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: While I agree X would want to limit interference, he also realised he had no choice. Humanity has been used to peace for so long that they would be annihilated without Reploid help. As for Blake and X, there will of course be more about their relationship later on.**_

 _ **Zero I never pegged for being a loner. He may be blunt and somewhat forceful but he's also the type of Hunter who sticks with his friends and helps out where needed, Plus, he's been through so much with X and Axl that he is more light hearted with them. I tend to use X8 as my reference for Zero where he does have some light hearted moments.**_

 _ **Also, France is famous for it's Metro system. I should know, I got lost on it once!**_

 _ **R98: I have some ideas, but I can't draw for crap!**_

 _ **Onwards!**_

The command room was a hub of activity as troops rushed to their stations. Amongst the chaos, Winter Schnee and her generals were observing the theatre of war from a holographic command table, showing them all the troop positions of both friend and enemy.

"The enemy army is around three times the size of all our forces combined, ma'am." One of the generals explained. "They have a sizeable force of ground troops attacking the base from key points, as well as enemy carrier ships and bombers flying overhead. They have messed up their timing somewhat, and the air group is only approaching the base now."

With a wave of her hand, Winter began moving units on the map to the desired positions.

"I want all troops at the main gates to fall back to defensive positions behind the tanks, use them as cover. AA guns will be stationed behind the troops with artillery at the back. We can't afford to lose men so we won't give them a chance to be killed. Until numbers are evened out, long range strikes are our best bet."

"Right away ma'am." The generals saluted and headed off to carry out their orders.

She then opened her scroll and began a multi-link call. Team RWBY appeared on each of their scrolls, as did Team JNPR, though they were still getting their equipment ready. Axl and Zero also appeared.

"Where are you all? What's your situation?" Winter demanded.

"Depends where you want us!" Ruby replied. "My team is heading for the main gate now!"

"Team JNPR, you are in the main building, correct?"

"That's right, Miss Schnee!" Jaune said.

"Good, defend that position at all costs, make sure the civilians do not come to harm. If any enemy air units get through, I suspect that is where they will be heading. Axl, Zero. I want you two to come help at the main gate as well, that is where the bulk of the enemy is."

"What about X?" Zero asked.

"I'm not sure, he's not responding to his scroll."

"He was at the barracks when we last saw him." Blake piped up.

"He will have to take care of himself, there are more than enough men there and X is a capable warrior. For now, just head to your assigned posts. Good luck, all of you."

Three more soldiers approached Winter, they were all wearing face covering helmets and breathing apparatus.

"Hawk, reporting as ordered, ma'am!"

"Wingblade, reporting as ordered, ma'am!"

"Defcon, reporting as ordered, ma'am!"

All three saluted as Winter gestured them to lower their hands.

"At ease gentlemen. How long until your forces can take to the air?" She asked.

Defcon spoke up. "Hawk and Wingblade's fighters can take to the air immediately ma'am, but my bombers still need a few minutes to load up."

"Go and see they are ready and await my orders, Defcon."

"Very good ma'am." Defcon ran off to the hangar as Winter spoke to the other pilots.

"Hawk, you will have your men take off now and intercept the enemy's landing forces from the rear forwards. The front most forces will be dealt with by AA fire."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Wingblade, you will launch at the same time as Defcon. Your job is to provide cover and escort while the bombers take out the ground forces."

"You can count on us ma'am. Those bombers aren't going down on my watch!"

"Then go, I don't need to tell you to be careful."

Saluting again, the men turned and sprinted to the hangars to make ready. Winter moved back to the holograms and watched as the Neo Arcadian forces began coming up against her first line of defence.

"Your move, Xandria."

 _ **Resistance Base – Barracks**_

No one was prepared when the first few shots landed, tearing the ground apart and hitting several groups of soldiers who now lay dead across the yard in front of the barracks. X sprinted towards the front with other soldiers following him, several were already returning fire with machine guns as the initial waves began to arrive.

"What's going on?!" X asked.

"It's Neo Arcadia, sir!" One soldier replied. "They've launched a full scale assault!"

Before X could say anything, several shots whizzed over his head, striking a soldier who came running up behind him. With a pang against his armour, the soldier fell dead. X wisely moved to cover before continuing.

"We need back up, get in touch with Winter at command!"

"We can't sir! They're jamming our transmissions!"

"Then we need a runner. You head back and tell Winter to send reinforcements, I'll keep things under control here!"

The soldier motioned to two of his friends. "You boys, with me!"

"Sir, yes sir!" The three ran off towards the command centre, though it would be some time before they got there.

"Everyone else! Battle positions! Stay in cover!" X ordered.

"They're coming over the barricades!" One soldier called back.

It was true. A number of Gorubeshu's were marching over the top of the defences, blasting any soldier they saw. Several fell as they were met with a storm of gunfire, in fact the soldiers began to push them back for a moment!

Then a few Wolfon's leapt over and began tearing away at the troops, pouncing on them and going for vulnerable spots like the neck. One soldier was floored by the animal like Reaverbot and struggled to push it back. A swift buster shot from X made the wolf yelp before falling dead.

"Heads up! Nevermore's!"

Screeching away, the bird Grimm dived into the thick of the action. They tore at the ground with their talons and began picking up soldiers, dropping them from massive heights to secure their kills.

X would not stand for this! Activating his weapon systems, he changed his colour scheme to pink and white, the colour of Nora Valkyrie.

"Thunder Grenade!"

He aimed at the sky and fired out a strange sort of ball that zoomed into the air above the Nevermore. Having reached maximum altitude, the ball split apart and released a massive cloud that grew in size, rumbling ominously as it did so. Without warning, several lightning streaks fired down on the Nevermore. The energy was great enough that their skeletons were visible for a brief moment before they fell out of the sky and faded away into their usual dark wisps. That just left the problem of the ground forces.

One soldier had his gun blasted out of his hands by a Gorubeshu. Undaunted, he ran forward and swung a punch at the Reaverbot. Yelling in pain as his hand broke against the Ceretanium shell. The Gorubeshu took no notice or sympathy and blasted him down instantly.

"Come on you tin cans!" Another jeered.

He gunned down several of the metal menace, never letting go of the trigger until one stray bullet went through his visor and felled him suddenly. Still full of adrenaline and high morale, another moved forward to take his place. This was their planet and they would not let it fall easily.

Hitting the offending Reaverbot with the butt of his rifle, the soldier then spun and kicked a small Zakobon over, it's feet wiggling uselessly. A Wolfon tried to jump on top of him but the soldier smashed down on it;s head with the end of his rifle before filling the Reaverbot's back full of bullets.

X wasn't done yet either. Dashing to the front, he saw a group of three Goliath's pressing forward, each with heavy cannons on their backs, attached by Xandria no doubt. He quickly scaled the trunk of the lead Grimm and cut the cannon barrel on the front in half, rendering it useless.

The Goliath behind him aimed it;s cannon to shoot X down but a quick activation of Jaune's weapon made the absorbed shots ineffective.

X now slid down the side of the Goliath and cut a deep gash into it's side with his sabre. The elephant Grimm wailed and reared onto it's hind legs. The second Goliath did not stop firing, even if that meant the shots hit it's companion.

A few did hit the Grimm but one stray shot hit the cannon which exploded spectacularly, raining hot metal on top of the Reaverbot forces as the Goliath fell dead before fading away. His job not yet done, X dashed off the body onto the next Goliath.

The soldiers meanwhile, had managed to form a defensive line and were now tearing through the Reaverbot ranks as they seemed to only advance, rather than using cover to fight back. The soldiers were standing their ground well and X couldn't help but be impressed at their determination.

"Careful lads!"

"Pass me a clip!"

"There! On the right!"

The soldiers kept their comrades informed and alert at all time, aware of how precarious their situation was.

"We just have to hold until reinforcements arrive! Keep it up!" One captain called to his men.

"HA HA HA!" A burly soldier laughed as he fired a minigun at the Reaverbots. "This is too easy! How's about a challenge you scrap piles?"

Oh, how the soldier would regret saying those words.

As X was moving back to the main line to help the troops defend, one of the spotters called him over.

"Sir! You'll want to take a look at this!" He said, passing him some binoculars.

At the point he was directing to, X saw some figures following up behind the main force. They looked all too familiar to X. There, before his eyes, was the entire Aberrant Council. He knew why they were here, but he also knew he wouldn't go down without a fight!

 _ **Main Gate**_

When Team RWBY arrived at the front line, the mood was bleak. Neo Arcadian forces hadn't quite reached them yet, though the distant sound of stomping showed they were incredibly close and bearing down on them. The soldiers were quiet, with only the light rattling of guns and armour, along with a few coughs. They knew a lot of them wouldn't be making it out of this battle but they were ready to fight in the name of Remnant.

Then a humming of engines could be heard above them, along with the screeches of Nevermore. Xandria's air support was approaching to make their job just that much harder, especially since they now noticed there were Mandomantals carrying other troops on their backs. Though originally used for underwater combat, Xandria seemed to have modified them, changing their fins for engines to make them airborne carriers.. Ruby gulped as the enemy approached and opened her scroll.

"Winter, you better have something up your sleeve or this is going to be one short battle."

"Oh don't you worry Miss Rose, I have a few surprises for our visitors."

Winter closed her scroll and looked to the crew, busy typing away at the computers in the command centre.

"Co-ordinates marked. Vectors locked in." One said.

"Bombers prepared, all fighters report go for launch."

Winter gave a nod to the first crew member who gave the command.

"Stand by Flak cannons... fire."

"Let them have it!" The lead cannon operator ordered.

 ***BOOM***

 ***BOOM***

 ***POW** *

An entire squad of Flak cannon unleashed their first shot, the barrels recoiling before springing back into place. The projectiles were blindingly fast as Team RWBY watched them zip up to their targets.

The enemy air force was densely packed together to accommodate their numbers, making them easy targets. The first shot tore the left wings straight off one Mandomantal, making it spin wildly out of control and explode, taking it's troops with it. Another went right through a Nevermore's chest, it fell and caught a group of Jakko Reaverbots, taking them down as well.

One more hit a Mandomantal in it's energy core. It exploded into miniscule pieces that acted as hot shrapnel, tearing through the Grimm and bringing smaller Reaverbots out of the sky or knocking them off their transports.

Bal Kacche Moths now zipped forward, carrying bombs and their wings armed with buster guns. The squadron was greeted by a message from Xandria.

" _Take out those cannons so our force can land. Show them no mercy!"_

Whirring and clicking in response, the Bal Kacche began diving in. A few were hit by Flak cannon fire, though they were small enough to dodge most of the shots. They armed their bombs and prepared to drop them on the cannon crew, who sought cover from the barrage.

Suddenly, machine gun fire began tearing apart the Bal Kacche squadron. They broke off and flew back to try another attempt, only to be followed by several jet fighters. The cannon crews cheered as their allies engaged in the dogfight.

"Hawk to squadron, mark your targets and take them down! Don't let those cannons get hit!" Hawk ordered.

" _Gotcha boss!"_

" _Eagle 12, going in!"_

Slipping in behind a group of three moths, the pilot squeezed the trigger and fired a burst of machine gun rounds. Each moth was taking out instantly, exploding into metal confetti that floated gently down to the ground.

"Nice shooting Eagle 12! Keep it up!"

The number of enemies was so great however, that no amount of fancy flying could take them all down in time as several Mandomantal's landed just in front of the first line of Remnant troops. The soldiers heading for cover as they awaited the enemy to advance.

A siren began blaring on each of the Mandomantal's as the main hatch on their front slowly lowered, revealing a mix of Grimm and Reaverbot forces. Beowulves were the first to charge out, their teeth gnashing at the air and snarling in a frenzy.

"BLAST THOSE SONS OF BITCHES!" A captain ordered as his men began unloading their shots at the enemy.

The Grimm were torn to shreds by the hail of small arms fire. Only two actually made it through the hail of bullets! The first that reached the barriers was decapitated by Ruby's scythe as it clambered over, the head twitching for a few moments before fading away. The second leapt at the soldiers, only to be caught mid air by Yang! She held it above her head before using her buster arm to fire a shot through it's stomach. The beast fell limp as she tossed the corpse aside.

Blake leapt over the barricades, firing her pistols wildly to take out as many as she could before she reached the battle line. Switching to her katana's, she slid in between two Gorubeshu's and stabbed her blades into their shields before ripping them out of their grasp. Twisting her blades around to make the shields fall off them, she then stabbed both Reaverbots in their main eye, destroying them.

A Sharukurusu ran at her and stabbed at her with it''s claws spinning like a drill. Blake easily stepped around it and chopped the Reaverbot's arm clean off, the appendage clanking to the ground uselessly. To finish it off, she leapt up and swung both blades across it's neck, leaving the head hanging by a thread as it fell.

Two Miroc's then zipped up behind her but Blake spun her blades into a backhand style and stabbed underneath both her arms. The Miroc's were gutted. She removed the blade from one but spun the other on her blade, letting it be flung off and hit Miitan that was floating towards her. The self destructing Reaverbot exploding prematurely as a result and taking several others with it.

Weiss now skated forward and came across a line of Miitan heading towards the troops. She fired a bolt of ice that blew up one of them and directed their attention to her. The line moving slowly towards the heiress.

"Perfect." She smiled.

Twisting her rapier in her right hand so the handle rested over her left shoulder, she thrust forward, disappearing into thin air for a split second. She reappeared on the other side of the Reaverbots before saying the move name.

"Raikousen!"

As soon as the words left her lips, a lightning bolt moved horizontally through each of the Miitan, who all exploded momentarily afterwards.

Weiss smiled to herself, that quickly turned into a scowl as several Jakko began circling over her head. Switching to the blue dust setting, she remembered what Zero had taught her.

"Hyouryuushou!"

Leaping up and spinning as she did so, each Jakko was encased in a block of ice. They fell out of the sky and shattered into shards on contact with the ground.

As Weiss reached the peak of her leap, she conjured a glyph to send her forwards, passing over the top of another Mandomantal. She changed to a red dust setting and pointed her blade straight down.

"Enkoujin!"

Flame engulfed her blade and she zoomed down tearing right through the shell of the Reaverbot, liquid metal pouring down from the edges of the hole she had created. She passed right through it's power core and out the other side. The Mandomantal exploded in mid air. One less problem to deal with anyway.

"Anyone else think this is too easy?" Yang laughed as she punched right through the head of Wolfon.

Then, the ground shook for a brief moment. The soldiers obviously noticed it as the began looking around them to discover the source of the tremor.

Another stomp as a few storage containers fell off their piles and the soldiers wobbled on their feet.

"You just had to ask, didn't you?" Weiss groaned.

Ruby wasn't listening to them though, instead, her eyes were full of terror as she looked at where the sound was coming from.

"Run for it!" She squealed, sprinting away.

Yang didn't want to look at what had made her sister run scared but she turned anyway. Her jaw dropped in awe of the sight. A giant humanoid robot, at least 25 metres tall, that walked on all fours. It's hands acted as front legs and atop it's head was a long piece of metal that extended backwards.

A Wojigairon. In fact, three of them!

The soldiers began to withdraw as blue energy shots were fired from the Wojigairon's mouths, exploding on contact and sending soldiers flailing through the air, screaming.

Yang was not intimidated. Readying her buster cannon, she began charging up a shot. A yellow aura of energy glowing around her, along with the familiar charge up sound, heightening in pitch as the plasma built up within the cannon. Reaching full power, Yang fired the shot and a brilliant glowing yellow ball of plasma was sent straight at the Reaverbot's head.

It hit he right side of it''s head and exploded. The Wojigairon moving it's head to the side as black smoke poured off it. Yang grinned as she was sure the monstrosity would fall. He smile faded quickly as it looked straight back at her, significantly more pissed of than before!

It began readying a shot of it's own as Yang began backing away. With a mighty roar, it was about to fire, ending the fiery Huntress's life.

Until a seemingly random shot hit the head and made the Wojigairon stumble. Another hit it in the back and the king of the Reaverbots let out a pained roar before it's arms gave way and it crashed into the earth, terraforming it as it's immense weight came down.

Yang caught her breath, what the hell was that?

"Look!" One soldier pointed up.

The welcoming sight of Wingblade and Defcon squadrons was cheered at by the ground troops as they zoomed overhead.

"Nice aim boys!" Defcon congratulated. "Get you a case of beer for that! We got two more of those things harassing our friends down there. Let's give them a little present. All wings, form up on me, we're going on for another run!"

Wingblade came over the comm line.

" _We've got a different party to attend to, someone's gotta watch your asses! Escort wings, follow me!"_

"Appreciate it buddy!"

Wingblade's squad banked off to the side and began shooting down the escort Reaverbots and Grimm as Defcon lined up his bombers for another strike. They flew in formation as they approached the Wojigairon.

"Everyone stay tight..." Defcon said as he readied his finger above the trigger.

"BOMBS AWAY!"

The first group released their payload and hit the second Reaverbot giant directly on the back, splitting it in half and making it fall instantly.

"Second group, release!"

Another squadron dropped their bombs, these ones hitting the side and destroying of the Wojigairons right arm and leg. It quickly lost balance and was destroyed as well. The troops waved to Defcon squadron as they flew by, with Yang getting on to her scroll to talk to the man himself.

"Nice work boys, we owe you one!"

"You hold back those guys and we'll call it even!" Defcon laughed. "C'mon boys! Let's go make some noise for their main forces!"

 _ **Command Centre**_

Jaune, Ren and Nora meanwhile, were preparing to defend the command centre from aerial attack. They had heard the reports of Xandria's forces using dropships and were getting ready for one heck of a fight, as the majority of troops were at the main gate, leaving only a few to defend the command centre.

Jaune adjusted his armour to a more comfortable position, mobility would be key against their stronger, yet clunkier opponents. To be honest, he was annoyed somewhat that his friends were out there, risking their lives to a greater extent but he couldn't argue with orders.

Besides, there was a very high chance that something big was going to happen here, especially if Xandria realised her conventional forces were not sufficient to capture the base. He and his team would be the only real defence against that threat. All they were waiting for was Pyrrha.

"Where do you think she is?" Nora asked, slightly concerned.

The sound of explosions in the distance intensified, making the base shake a little bit.

"We don't have long, she had better hurry." Ren added.

"I'll go see if she's alright." Jaune volunteered as he ran off towards their room.

He had always had good instinct and, despite his talk with Pyrrha, he couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

(Insert music: Megaman Zero Remastered Soundtrack – Guarder Room)

Pyrrha slammed against a storage locker in her teams room, holding onto her head with one hand, clearly in pain as she grit her teeth. She slid her other arm across the top of the locker, dragging several items onto the floor, though she took no notice of them.

Stumbling across the room and crashing against a wall, she began panting for breath, still cradling her head with one hand and punching the wall repeatedly with the other.

"Get out... Get out of my head!" She begged.

" _I think you'll find it's my head. Don't resist it, just let me take control. You should have another rest and when you wake up, the world will be a better place."_

"No!" Pyrrha gasped as she fell to her knee's, both hands against her head.

She writhed and strained against this invading force on her consciousness. She took a deep breath and screamed to the sky before letting her head fall and her body kneel still on the floor of her room.

She looked back up and got to her feet. Checking her body all over, examining every part of it. Twisting her hands to examine them before picking up Milo and Akouo.

"Much better." She smiled.

It was then that Jaune came through the door, panting as he had sprinted the whole way there.

"You ready to go Pyrrha? He asked.

"Of course." She smiled innocently. "Before we do though, I need to ask you something, privately."

"Well... alright but make it quick! We have to get out there and help our friends."

"You're quite right Jaune. It will only take a second though. Could you close the door for me, just in case there are any prying ears?"

Jaune seemed a little confused but looked away as he shut the electronic doors that locked their room.

Pyrrha smiled. A different smile though. A more devious one as her eyes glowed a piercing shade of red as she silently readied her javelin in short blade form.

"No interruptions?" Pyrrha asked.

"Nope." Jaune smiled before he found Pyrrha's weapon held against his throat. The young knight pressed himself back against the locked door, the blade inches away from cutting him.

"Perfect." Pyrrha smirked.

 _ **OH SNAP! What's happened to Pyrrha? Will Jaune be able to get away? What about X? Why is the whole council after him? And what about the battle itself?**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	49. Facing the Truth

_**Gravenimage: Maybe he will, maybe he won't. Depends if the local store has Starbursts or not. :3**_

 _ **grimlock987: Oh it's far too late for that. She is already a puppet of Neo Arcadia. MUHAHAHA!**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: (Aims a cannon at the SS Arkos) Huh? Sorry, did you say something?**_

 _ **R98: Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Pyrrha the Wise?**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Well, Paris was the first metro I went on so it sticks in my mind. As for X, I think you have every reason to be worried. :D**_

 _ **Onwards!**_

Jaune barely had time to duck as Pyrrha's blade was thrust towards his head. It embedded itself in the metal door he stood against and he took the opportunity to move away from Pyrrha, drawing Corcea Mors as he did so.

Pyrrha pulled her weapon from the door, the material creaking as she wrenched it out with ease. She then launched straight back at Jaune, who raised his shield and blocked his lover's strike. The two strained against one another, with Jaune having a considerably harder time.

"Pyrrha! Hnnngh... what's... what's gotten into... you?"

Pyrrha just smirked and moved back, letting Jaune stumble forward. She then grabbed him by the neck, forcing the knight to paw away at his throat and try to break her grip. Lifting him off his feet, she savoured watching him kick the air before she threw him against the window. The structure smashed into tiny shards and Jaune fell towards the ground below.

Zero and Axl meanwhile, were running across the base towards the front lines. They were passing by the main building when they heard glass shattering. Both of them skidded to a halt.

"You hear that?" Axl asked.

Zero looked up, surprised to see Jaune falling towards them! Leaping forward, he caught Jaune and the two tumbled across the ground for a few feet as Axl ran over to see if they were alright.

"Augh..." Zero groaned as he go back up. "Mind telling me what that was all about?"

He got his answer when Pyrrha landed in front of the trio, cracking the ground around her as she did so.

"Pyrrha?" Axl was understandably confused.

He was even more dumbstruck when Pyrrha swung her weapon at him! Jaune leapt over and blocked the attack with his shield, forcing Pyrrha's weapon downwards as it sparked against the concrete.

Jaune held his shield up protectively, his voice cracking as he spoke.

"Pyrrha, please. Don't make me do this."

She advanced towards him regardless, spinning her blade casually as she did so. In defence, Zero charged at Pyrrha, his sabre held behind himself in preparation to strike. He swung the sabre wide to attack but found himself frozen in place! Straining to move, he found black aura covering his body.

"Polarity semblance on a robot. How did you not figure that one out?" She giggled venomously.

Unable to move, Zero stood no chance as Pyrrha dragged Milo across his chest, leaving a deep gash within it that sparked rapidly. Releasing the aura, Zero stood dead still for a moment before collapsing on the ground before her.

Unfettered, Axl drew his pistols and fired on Pyrrha. She raised Akouo and let the blaster bolts ping harmlessly off it. Despite being rapid fire, they didn't deal much damage individually.

Axl aimed for Pyrrha's head, his fingers hesitantly hovering over the triggers. The moment of thought cost him dearly as Pyrrha used her semblance on his guns, flinging them from his grasp as they clattered off to the side, out of his reach. Leaping up, she kicked Axl in the chest and forced him to fall flat on his back.

She then used her semblance on Zero's sabre, bringing it over to herself and activating it, the blade hummed with power. Without a second thought, she stabbed it through his chest, shattering the blue crystal into tiny fragments. Axl's head jerked up before falling back as he was forced to go to emergency power, his main core badly damaged.

Pyrrha then made her way over to Jaune, letting Milo drag against the ground, sparking and generating a horrific noise.

Jaune kept backing away, not wanting to face Pyrrha. He wanted to give her every chance he could. This was his beloved he was talking about!

"I made a promise to you... don't make me keep it... please." Jaune begged.

She pulled her arm back and was about to strike at Jaune once more. He flinched at the attempt, the last thing he saw being the murderous look in the eyes of the one he held so dear.

 ***PEW** *

*GAGH!" Pyrrha cried as a burning hot plasma shot hit her right arm.

She grasped hold of the wound and turned away from the sight of her opponents. Kneeling down, she examined the wound, though Jaune couldn't see what damage was done.

Looking for where the shot comae from, he found Zero with his buster arm activated, the barrel aimed at Pyrrha and smoking from a recently dispensed attack. Zero's arm shook as he tried to keep the cannon aimed at her. His power core was sparking like Axl's, both were out of the fight but he spoke to Jaune with his last ounce of strength.

"Don't... be afraid, Jaune. You... have to... beat her.."

Jaune was appalled. "How can you say that? She's everything to me! I can't even stand against her, and you want me to kill her?! I can't do it!"

"You...can!" Zero shouted. "Because... because..."

"Because what?" Jaune repeated, awaiting a response.

Then he looked back at Pyrrha.

She had turned back to face them and Jaune's mouth was agape as he saw her injured arm. A regular human arm, but with green data numbers at the point where the cut was, revealing metal wiring underneath!

"Because... that's... not... Pyrrha!" Zero replied before being forced to emergency power, ceasing his talking ability.

'Pyrrha' held out her injured arm and let the green data numbers flow over it. The robotic arm was instantly repaired. Examining the work, 'Pyrrha' gave a small chuckle.

"That is rather unfortunate. I was having so much fun watching your little heart get torn in two, even at the mere thought of having to fight the one you love! Now, thanks to blondie over there, the cat's out of the bag."

You..." Jaune snarled. "What have you done with Pyrrha?"

"Oh don't you worry your pretty little human head about her. She's being taken care of quite well. We couldn't get rid of her if we wanted to keep up our little deception."

"What? How long have you been doing this? How long has she been held prisoner? Answer me!"

"You didn't even realise? Hahahaha! Oh that is just too precious! Tell me, what did you see when you climbed up to the roof that night at Beacon?" The copy asked.

Jaune though for a moment, recalling the memory.

"Pyrrha was lying there after her battle with Cinder. She was at the far side of the roof with two other... *gasp*"

"That's right. Mistress Xandria saw to the switch-a-roo personally. You should be grateful, we were going to kill her, but this way was much more fun and gave us some insight into your resistance! I will admit though, she came close to giving the game away on a few occasions."

"The nightmares!" Jaune realised.

"Bingo!" 'Pyrrha replied, winking at him. "You were talking to the real Pyrrha all this time, just through a fake body, my body to be precise. We kept your little friend in stasis and transmitted any sensory stimulation from myself directly to her. Everything I saw, she saw. Everything I touched, she touched. I just kept my personality matrix in the background and let Pyrrha think she was still in control!"

"But she was!" Jaune retorted. "Those nightmares, talk of voices she couldn't recognise, visions of destruction. She was discovering your existence! What you had done to her!"

The fake Pyrrha rolled her eyes.

"I hate to admit it but, yes, she put up a fight. The voices she heard were the Neo Arcadian scientists, trying to keep her in stasis. When she 'woke up', they were just increasing the stasis field to make sure she stayed under. Plus, despite my best efforts, her strong spirit knew something was wrong and began digging around for information. That's where the nightmares came from, my thoughts mixing with hers."

Jaune Couldn't believe what he was hearing. This whole time, he and his team had been living with a robotic copy of Pyrrha? While she had been held a prisoner, completely unaware of what was happening to her?

"Of course, now I'm in complete control, I can switch anytime I want! Would you like to speak to your beloved? It'll only take a sec."

Pyrrha's head hung loosely before it was slowly raised, her eyes returning to that familiar emerald green colour.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha gasped, her breathing rushed. "What's going on? What happened to Zero and Axl?"

"Just hang in there Pyrrha! It's going to be okay!" Jaune replied quickly, unsure of how long he had to speak with her.

Pyrrha held her hands against her head.

"I see faces, faces I don't recognise. Where am I? Why does my head hurt so much?"

She was in a total panic, understandably. Tear running down her face as the strain of quite literally being in two places at once was taking it's toll on the poor girl. Jaune ran up to her and gently lifted her face to look at him.

"Pyrrha, listen to me! I don't have time to explain what's happening. I don't know where you are exactly or what's going to happen but I promise you, I'm not going to lose you! We'll find you and get you back! I promise!"

Pyrrha's head dropped again and Jaune thought she had fainted from the sheer strain she was under.

"Pyrrha? PYRRHA?!"

Her head came back up again, this time though, with the devilish red eyes of the copy instead. Jaune leapt back once again in case it tried a cheap shot on him.

"Aaaaaaand that's enough of that. Such pheromone driven emotions would make me sick, if I could be sick.

Jaune was livid. This copy robot was treating this whole scenario like some simple game of pretend!

Seeing his anger, 'Pyrrha' laughed.

"You know, I saw her thoughts too while I was sharing this body with her. She cares so much for you, and vice versa. It would be wonderful to see how heartbroken she is, once I bring you back to Neo Arcadia in pieces!"

Jaune readied Corcea Mors. "Just try it! You're going to pay for what you've done!"

(Insert music: Megaman X7 – Vs Red)

The copy zipped straight in front of Jaune, thrusting Milo at his chest. Jaune brought up his shield and let Milo embed itself within the metal before bringing his sword down on the copy's head.

It too was blocked however. Jaune now used his arm that held his sword, bringing his elbow down underneath and striking the copy in the chin. He then brought his knee up to the copy's gut, forcing it to double over and release the pressure on it's attacks. With his arms free, Jaune bashed against it's face with his shield. The copy stumbled and gave a grin as it clicked it's jaw back into place.

The copy then readied Akouo and threw it at Jaune, letting the shiled fly around the arena with some control from Pyrrha's semblance. Jaune ducked under the initial throw before bringing his own shield above his head. Akouo scraped across the top of it before flying back off again.

Jaune thought to himself. Why was the copy not going for the kil lwith this attack? If anything, it was just harassing him with it. Was it toying with him? Seeing him squirm before the final blow? He got his answer as, during one block, a buster shot whizzed past him!

Pyrrha's copy had revealed it's robitc arm again, this time with a buster cannon on the end of it!

"Dance, monkey! Dance!"

Firing the buster at seemingly random intervals, Jaune was forced to juggle between dodging the shots and the shield at the same time. He leant back to let two shots zip by him, only to have the shiled grind across the back of his armour. Another shot was blocked by his shield but Akouo flew at his vulnerable legs, though Jaune was able to leap over it just in time, albeit landing flat on his face in the process.

Bringing the shield back, the copy smashed Akouo down vertically so it spun on it;s side. Sending it towards Jaune again, it tore up the concrete around it as it buzzed closer to him. Jaune gasped as he scurried to the side and let the buzz saw like object spin past himself.

Seemingly bored of this attack, the copy called the shield back to itself, yawning mockingly and patting it's mouth as it did so.

The copy sprinted at Jaune again, this time it slid across the ground and whipped it's leg around, sweeping Jaune off his feet. He landed without injury but this gave the copy the chance to switch Milo to rifle form. Firing three shots, Jaune was able to raise his shield just in time to block them, each one pinging off in a random direction instead.

"Hold still!" It cried out, stabbing Milo at Jaune's head.

Thinking quickly, Jaune rolled back and swung his leg high, kicking the copy in the jaw as he did so. As he got back up, Jaune bashed his shield against the copy's face before charging with his shield. The was forced back by Jaune's charge before the boy threw him off it and sent the copy crashing into the side of a nearby bullhead, denting it considerably.

"Not bad kid!" The copy congratulated, getting back up. "No more holding back, let's see what your girlfriend can do!"

Readying Milo, the copy began slashing at the bullhead, allowing red hot chunks of metal to fall around it. The Bullhead unceremoniously collapsed on itself in a cloud of dust and creaking metal. It then activated Pyrrha's semblance, allowing several pieces of the steel machinery to be picked up and float around it.

"Nice knowing ya!"

The copy then flung the various chunks at Jaune's position. Jaune dived out of the way of the first one, rolling to the side as one massive piece embedded itself in the ground where he was. Two more fell close to him but didn't hit their target. The copy then dived in for a swift flurry of strikes, slashing at his head, which Jaune barely registered in time. He was forced to back pedal, with the copy swinging towards his head, though Jaune kept out of reach.

Tutting to itself, the copy brought another metal piece down just behind Jaune, sending him off balance and forcing him to lower his guard. The copy took full advantage, pummelling him with several slashes across the chest from Milo. Thankfully, his armour and aura levels prevented any major damage before he was grabbed and thrown into the remains of the Bullhead.

Jaune had no time to react when he realised where he was. Without waiting, the copy clicked it;s fingers and used Pyrrha's semblance to bring all of the metal he was surrounded by into one crushing mass against him. The mass of mechanical parts stayed around Jaune for a few seconds, placing tremendous strain on his aura levels before the makeshift crusher was broken apart.

He fell to his hand's and knee's, gasping for air after the pressure on his body was released. Looking up, he found the copy pointing Milo straight at him again, the blade drawn back for a finishing strike.

"Good effort, but you're way out of your league. I know every trick your precious Pyrrha knows, as well as some of my own!"

Jaune panted between words. "Maybe... but you don't know a thing about Pyrrha herself!"

The copy laughed loudly. "What's to know about a pathetic human?"

"That she's strong! Not just as a fighter, but as a person too! You honestly think she would just let you push her aside, let you harm those she cares about, her friends and family, and not put up a fight in the process?"

The copy lost it's confident smirk, scowling at Jaune instead.

"You have seen it, haven't you? She was constantly trying to break free of the nightmares, pushing you back, never letting you get full control! Well guess what? You never will, because she is to strong to lose to the likes of you!"

"In case you failed to notice, I'm in full control right now! You're at my mercy!"

"Really?" Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you struggling to keep Milo pointed at me?"

"What?" The copy gasped.

Looking at it's own arm, it realised that Milo was shaking in it's grasp, struggling to be free from it's hand with same black aura around it from Pyrrha's semblance, only the copy wasn't casting it.

It strained to try and bring Milo down on Jaune but to no avail. Holstering the shield to use both hands, the copy found Akouo was pulled of it's back and clattered beside Jaune's feet.

"H-how?" It barely managed to say with disbelief.

Looking at the fake Pyrrha's face, Jaune saw the red in it's right eye flickering back and forth from red to emerald. The copy placed a hand upon the eye, as if there was a great pain behind it.

"Stop it! STOP IT! Stop fighting back you bitch!"

Jaune called out to his beloveds spirit. "Don't listen to him, Pyrrha! He's not in control, you are! You can fight back, you can beat him!"

Pyrrha seemed to respond to his encouraging words as the copy dropped Milo and fell to one knee before clutching both hands against it's head. Pyrrha wasn't going to let him take her from her friends so easily but she could only do so much.

With her polarity semblance engulfing it, Milo was dragged across the ground until it was next to Jaune, who was still recovering from his initial beating and pulling himself out of the pile of metal debris.

Seeing this, the copy decided enough was enough. Ripping a panel of the back of it's neck, it fumbled around with effort as it struggled against Pyrrha's influence before finding the wire it was looking for.

"No more interruptions! Get out of my head!"

Tearing the wire out, the emerald glow in it's eye vanished and Pyrrha's semblance stopped working on all the objects nearby.

"Pyyrha!" Jaune cried, fearing the worst.

The copy shook itself down, sighing in annoyance at this turn of events before drawing an orange energy sabre in it's right hand.

"Had to shut her out completely, so no more powers for me I guess. Doesn't matter though, I'm sick of this pissing around! You are dead meat, Jaune Arc! So is she when I get back to Neo Arcadia."

Jaune bent down and picked up Milo, looking at it solemnly. Suddenly, in his mind, he heard something. A voice that he recognised instantly.

" _You can defeat him. I believe in you, Jaune."_

Jaune smiled, looking to the sky as he spoke to seemingly no one, but Jaune knew she was listening.

"If you believe in me, then I have nothing to fear."

(Insert music: Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep – Terra's Theme)

Jaune retracted his shield to scabbard form, clipping the holster on to his belt, yet keeping his sword unsheathed in his right hand. He then spun Milo in his left hand and got ready for battle, effectively dual wielding two swords as a result.

"Pyrrha, lend me your strength, so I can keep my promise."

Jaune was first to strike, leaping high and trying to kick the copy in the face. Leaning back and allowing Jaune to get his feet on the ground again, the copy swing at his head, which Jaune easily ducked before swatting the sabre away with both his blades. Jaune then swung at the copy's side with both blades, which was blocked by the sabre.

The copy swung from low to high, with Jaune using his mobility to hop back from the swing before dancing around his opponent to the other side. The copy followed and swung in the same manner in the opposite direction. Missing again, Jaune thrust both blades forward, ensuring the copy had to dash backwards to prevent being gutted.

"RRRAAAGGGHH!"

Recovering from the attack, the copy looked up to see Jaune leaping at him from above, both blades held behind his head. The copy brought his blade across to block and Jaune's blades made contact, with the knight maintaining his position in the air as his opponent pressed against Jaune's might.

The Beacon student was pushed off and behind the copy, who swung behind to try and decapitate Jaune as he landed. The attempt failed miserably as Jaune ducked with time to spare. Undettered, the copy slammed down with his sabre as Jaune brought his blades up, crossing them over to block the attack. The two strained against each other's attack, neither willing to give in.

"Why do you struggle so much?" The copy spat. "Why fight when you know you can't win? We have an army that will crush your pathetic resistance, technology you cannot hope to match and the most powerful Reploids this world has ever seen! You cannot win!"

"Wrong!" Jaune shouted back as the two broke off from each other, stopping for a moment of respite.

"Maybe the odds are against us, maybe we can't win this no matter how you look at the logic and the numbers, but we don't care!"

The copy seemed perplexed as Jaune continued.

"You may be capable of having human emotions, but you sure as hell don't know how we think. We don't look at the facts or the numbers in our battles, we just hold on to the things that we know will see us through to victory!"

"That being?"

"Hope, belief, will... love." He said the last word while looking at Milo. "

"Every emotion that we feel, that drives us onward even when the outcome looks bleak. No matter how vastly outnumbered we may be, no matter how tired, worn out and beaten we may be. We hold on to the belief that no matter what, we can succeed! Humanity lives by that, X, Zero and Axl understand that and because you refuse to see it, you will fall by it's hand!"

The copy looked forlorn for a moment, as if contemplating Jaune's words before it snarled at him once again.

"What a load of shite! Sentimental human drivel!"

Jaune breathed deeply. "Let me show you the power you scorn."

Jaune then closed his eyes and held the blades at his sides, not in any battle pose, but at peace. The copy looked flabbergasted but saw this as a prime opportunity to destroy Jaune. Moving slowly closer, Jaune remained completely still, seemingly not even thinking about the imminent danger that approached him.

"HIYAH!"

The copy leapt at Jaune, who quickly raised Milo to block the blade. He then used it to force the enemy's sabre downwards, leaving the copy exposed. Without missing a beat, Jaune brought Corcea Mors down across the copy's front.

 ***SSSCCHING!** *

Silence fell as Jaune slowly opened his eyes, seeing the copy staring right back at him with a venomous look upon it's borrowed face.

The smirk upon it quickly fell though, to a look of realisation, it's eyes jittering slightly and it's breathing becoming shallow and rapid. Looking down, the copy found sparks emerging from the gash across 'Pyrrha's armour and mechanical fluid dripping out from the wound. It's arms hung loose, with no energy to be put into them before the copy's grip on it's sabre failed and the weapon clattered to the ground, deactivating as it did so.

The copy fell to it's knee's before toppling to the side. Jaune stooped low to catch his opponent, letting it rest in his arms. The copy was losing power rapidly, looking at Jaune not with a look of anger or hatred, but surprise and respect.

"Hah... hah... you... you did good... kid. I'm beginning...*puff* to see... what she saw... in you..."

The copy chuckled to itself, coughing as it did so while it's chest sparked more violently.

"No... hard feelings... eh, kid? I... I followed... my orders and I can admit... I was... I was... wrong... about you humans. I still got some... got some power left... I'm not gonna fight it... I'll let her through..."

True to it's word, the copy's eyes turned from red to emerald, letting Jaune know that Pyrrha was with him again, if only for a little bit.

Looking up at him, her face changed from her alter ego's one of pain to that of joy. She raised her hand placed it on his cheek, Jaune taking her other hand in both of his.

"I knew you could do it." She said softly.

"Hey." Jaune laughed, as a tear rolled down his cheek. "It wasn't all me, you were fighting with me, partner."

Jaune's face turned more serious now. "Pyrrha, listen. I don't know where you are exactly, or what they've done to you. I wish I could have done more, noticed sooner that this had happened but... we will find you and we will get you back. Just hang in there, alright?"

Pyrrha laughed and pulled him down closer to her.

"I know you will. Jaune Arc doesn't break a promise."

Bringing herself up to him, she placed her arms around him and hugged tightly, Jaune returning the embrace in kind. It didn't matter if the body was fake, the girl he was embracing right now was Pyrrha Nikos regardless.

The two broke off as a final jolt of electricity made the copy body shuffer. Looking into Pyrrha's eyes, he found they had faded but had not returned to the piercing red of the enemy. Instead they went dim and empty, pale white iris' with no pupils in them. The sparking stopped and Jaune lay the body down.

He took Milo and Akouo and placed them on the holster on his back before moving over to Zero and Axl. Both of them were still alive, much to his relief but they would need serious repairs.

Lifting them both, one hanging over each shoulder, he began making his way to the command centre. Before he left though, he took one last look at the body of his fallen foe. Looking into the skyline, he saw the Neo Arcadia's main tower in the distance.

"A promise is a promise... Pyrrha." He whispered to the air, before slowly moving off to get help for his friends.

 _ **Well this one was a ton of fun to write, hope you enjoyed it too!**_

 _ **The battle still rages on though, tune in for more!**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	50. Holding the Line

_**Gravenimage: Well... wouldn't say saved yet but... he kicked her copy's butt!**_

 _ **Grimlock987: She'll appear soon enough! Please don't hurt me! :(**_

 _ **SparktheDog: Good point. When things are back to normal, I'll have Pyrrha update Jaune's training programme!**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Aw come on! It's just X vs the entire enemy leader's! What's the worst that could happen?**_

 _ **DukesofBoston: Ummm... I'll be honest, I never thought about any of that... y'know... sort of stuff. A relationship doesn't automatically mean sexy time!**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: Well, we have an Ultimate Kuuga at least! That's something! (I hope)**_

 _ **ChimaTigon: Arkos 4 life yo!**_

 _ **MegaLegends29: You're here now, that's all that matters!**_

 _ **Onwards!**_

Terrifying storms had hit Remnant before, but none quite like this one. The sky was filled with the rumble of explosions, both from Xandria's forces being destroyed and the brave Remnant defenders who fell in the line of duty. Bright flashes illuminated the sky like fireworks, accompanied by the soundtrack of gunfire and explosions. Hot metal rained down from fallen friend and foe, adding to the bloodbath on the ground as well as the air.

"I got one behind me! You see it?"

A Bal Kacche Moth was following on the tail of one of Hawk's fighter pilot's. He dived and darted across the sky, but the Reaverbot would not lose sight of him, though could not land a good hit.

"I'm on him." Hawk responded, pulling in behind the duo.

His holographic reticule produced by his helmet beeped rhythmically, increasing in tempo every time it drew closer to it's target, before dropping again as it passed over.

"Come on, come on!"

Finally, the beeping remained in a constant, one tone sound, signifying that he was locked on. Squeezing the trigger, guns under both wings fired, sending a trail of bullets in front of him. All of them pinged off the moth, which burst into flame and exploded spectacularly for it's size.

" _Clear tail! Thanks boss!"_

"Don't relax, we ain't done yet!" Hawk reminded his team.

In response to the air assault, the Reaverbot's brought forward another variety of their own; a Janfoden. Several of them were lined up and aimed to the sky, before releasing a plethora of missiles at Hawk's forces.

"We got incoming! Evasive action!" Hawk warned.

Banking right, he just managed to dodge aside as a missile passed his wing, exploding instead on some Reaverbot's who were trying to chase him. He let out a relieved sigh before realising one of his allies had a missile on his tail.

"Sharkbait! Start weaving, you've got a hot one on your six!"

" _I'm trying boss! It's not working!"_

Indeed, Sharkbait was pulling off every move he could while trying to maintain speed, lest the missile catch up to him. He ducked and dived all over the sky but to no avail as the missile followed his every move.

" _This is Sharkbait, I need hel-YEARGH!"_

The line went dead as the missile made contact with Sharkbait's right wing. With a total loss of control and his engines aflame, he spiralled down out of the sky, his craft emitting the signature whine as it nosedived before embedding itself in the ground in a ball of flame.

"Sharkbait's down!" Hawk reported, smacking the dashboard of his cockpit in frustration. "Defcon! Get your ass in there and take those missile launcher's out!"

"With pleasure!" Defcon replied. "All wings, form up on me, we're going fo-"

 ***KABOOM** *

" _Sting is down!"_ A pilot reported, confirming what the explosion was.

" _Defcon! Above us!"_ Another warned.

As Defcon's team were getting organised, a squad of Bal Kacche had caught on to their plan and had begun attacking his forces. They quickly split up and began splitting their attackers up. Defcon cursed his luck.

"Wingblade! Where the hell are you?" He called to his support.

"We're in the thick of it! Looks like the whole damned enemy fighter corps is here! There's too many of them!" Wingblade responded.

Defcon's bomber juddered as the one that was flying alongside him was hit by a missile, destroying it instantly.

" _Is there no way for you to get through?"_ Wingblade asked.

"Not in bombers, no. We don't have the manoeuvrability to get past the fighters and the missiles! What about you?"

" _We could get through but we aren't equipped to deal with ground forces! It would be a waste of time!"_

Back on the ground, team RWBY was just polishing off the last of the main assault group of Reaverbot's. Blake quickly decapitated a Beowulf before changing to pistols and shooting a Geist right through it's mask, the supernatural demon screeching before vanishing to nothingness.

Yang and Ruby were heading to help her when the ground started shaking beneath them. It was caused by three Nakel Reaverbot's burrowing out of the ground in front of them. They began spitting burning hot blasts at the girl's.

Both girl's backed off. Yang using her Ember gauntlets to propel herself backwards, while Ruby's speed semblance was more than enough to avoid the enemy's fire.

"Out of our way!" Ruby shouted. "Yang, now!"

Grabbing her sister's hand, Yang began spinning Ruby around. Gathering momentum, she released her grip and sent her sister straight towards the enemy.

Ruby readied her scythe, swinging it across just as she passed in between all three of the Nakel's necks. She landed safely on the other side, her scythe held behind her as the Nakel froze in their positions. A second later, their top halves were separated from their body's and they fell down, destroyed.

Ruby smirked in triumph before a Giwan stomped up to her, clearly annoyed with the girl's actions.

She gave a nervous grin before the Giwan slammed one arm down, which Ruby just managed to dodge in time. Trying to capitalise on the opportunity, Ruby tried to bring her weapon down on the extended arm. Just as she was bout to however, the other arm swooped in from behind and swatted the crimson fighter away.

"Ruby!" Yang shrieked, as her sister was dazed.

The Giwan drew ever closer, raising both arms to squash Ruby like the bug it made her out to be.

That would have been the case, had a large glyph not appeared right next to the giant Reaverbot. From within the centre of the snowflake shaped semblance, a giant glowing white hand emerged, moving slowly towards the Giwan, who looked on in bewilderment.

Snapping into action, the hand grabbed hold of the Giwan, which began flailing around uselessly as it was lifted high into the sky. The hand released it;s grip, letting the Reaverbot fall back to earth with an almighty crash. To finish, the hand closed into a fist and was brought down upon the Giwan, crushing it instantly.

Ruby and her team watched in awe as the hand moved back into the glyph, before vanishing from sight.

"No need to thank me!" Weiss called over, panting from exhaustion. Her summons would take a lot out of her, this one was exceptional so she obviously felt shattered.

"You holding up alright?" Yang sarcastically asked, pulling the heiress to her feet.

"Yes, actually." Weiss answered. "Since it seems our job here is almost done."

Looking around, it was true. Most of Xandria's force's had not even been able to land, destroyed while still in the Mandomantal's that were bringing them to the field. Those that were not destroyed were still fighting through the air battle above them. The few forces that had reached the ground were all but beaten, a few stragglers remained but they would be easily picked off by the soldiers.

"She's right, Yang!" Ruby chirped. "As long as the air force can hold out, we've pretty much won!"

On that note, the team got a call on their scroll's. None of them were expecting it and they all looked at each other in confusion at this development. Taking them out, they opened up the video link to find Defcon, Wingblade and Hawk were calling them. All of them seemed to be frantically busy as the air battle raged above them.

"There you are Hunters! Finally!" Defcon began.

"What's going on up there?" Ruby asked.

"We almost had the situation under control up here, but we've got a problem!"

"What sort of problem?" Yang questioned.

She got her answer as a whistling sound drew the girl's attention to a point far off into the distance. A flaming object fired from the ground was responsible for the noise. It zoomed up into the air and hit one of their allies plane's exploding it instantly.

"That problem!" Defcon answered. "Our bomber's are too slow to get through their defensive perimeter, if we don't do something soon the entire fleet is going down!"

This was not what the girl's needed, they were so close to victory now. The soldier's here could handle themselves but that still didn't solve the problem of the missile launchers. If they didn't get rid of them soon, it would give Xandria's forces a safe place to land and their hard work would be for nought.

Ruby then got a spark of an idea.

"Hawk, are your ships fast enough to get through their defences?"

"Miss Rose, my boys will get through anything!" He boasted.

"Great! I need you and another ship to swing by us, I have a plan!"

"Acknowledged Miss Rose, see you in a moment." Hawk switched his call off, leaving the screen blank.

"Just hold out you two, we'll deal with those missiles."

"Alright but hurry! Defcon acknowledged.

Putting her scroll away, Ruby motioned for one of the commander's to come over. He ran to her and saluted.

"Ready the Paladin's commander, we'll lead the way. When the firework's starts, you start pushing forward with all you've got. It's time we end this battle."

"Yes ma'am!" He sprinted off to ready his men.

"What's this plan then, Ruby?" Weiss queried.

Hawk and his wingman both swooped in low, their ship's hovering just beside team RWBY. Without any hesitation, Ruby hopped onto Hawk's left wing with a smile on her face.

"We're going for a little ride!"

 _ **2 minutes later**_

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman Zero 2 Remastered OST: Power Bom)**_

"WHY DID I AGREE TO THIS?!"

Weiss screamed at the top her lungs over the sound of wind rushing past them. Her hair and combat skirt fluttering in the gale force winds as she stood on the other wing of Hawk's fighter. She was using a glyph to hold herself and her team in place which ensured they wouldn't fall off but that did little to stop her realising how insane this whole plan was.

"GREAT PLAN, HUH?" Ruby shouted back.

"THIS IS INSANE YOU INSUFFERABLE LITTLE-"

"DON'T YOU BADMOUTH MY SISTER, ICE QUEEN!" Yang protested from the other craft with Blake on one wing and herself on the other.

"JUST QUIT WHINING AND KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN FOR ANY ENEMIES!" Blake told them all.

" _Head's up girls! Squad at 4 o'clock!"_ Hawk warned them over the comm line.

Yang held up her wrist and looked at the top of it. "ACTUALLY!, IT'S ABOUT 7:30!"

" _ **YANG!"**_ They all bellowed as now was not the time for jokes.

Yang chuckled to herself before a shot whizzed past her head. Looking behind her, she found a group of Balfura zooming towards her, firing shots from their tails.

"Maybe it wasn't that funny! No need to be rude!" Yang shouted.

Activating her buster arm she began firing on the enemy. A few of the Balfura were destroyed but the rest of the group drew closer to the wing of the ship. Some of their weaker shots pinging off the wing, leaving small burn marks. Hawk's partner reacted and tilted his craft to the left, allowing the Balfura to pass underneath it. Having gone past them, Ruby fired from the other ship. Bullet's clanged against metal as the Balfura shrieked after being hit and falling back to the ground.

" _Right, that's the first problem out of the way."_ Hawk radioed in.

"FIRST PROBLEM?" Weiss called back.

Several dozen shots then flew past the craft the girls were riding on. Both Hawk and his wingman dived to the sides and began weaving as best they could, which wasn't easy given the passengers they were carrying.

"THE HELL WAS THAT?" Yang asked.

" _That would be problem number two."_

Peering down from the edge of the wings, the girls were met with a sight that none of them wanted to see.

A Rush Mamoo... XL size.

The Wojigairon's were big, but this Mamoo was even bigger than that. Squinting through the incoming fire, the girl's noticed several Reaverbot's on it's back, firing up at them as well as the Mamoo using it's trunk with a gain cannon on the end of it. To make matters worse, it was right on top of the enemy Janfoden, protecting them from attack.

" _We'll try and take him down, no promises though, just make sure you hold tight. Yellow Jacket, follow me!"_

Flying just beside each other, the two fighters weaved gently through the enemy fire as they drew closer to their target.

" _Stay tight, Yellow Jacket."_

" _Look at the size of that thing!"_ Yellow Jacket replied. _"You sure we can take it down?"_

" _Gotta try at least. Attack pattern Delta, go!"_

As they approached the literal and figurative mammoth of a Reaverbot, the two ships banked right, narrowly dodging the main trunk and began increasing their altitude. Ruby and her team took a few pot shots at the Mamoo but they may as well have been firing Nerf darts for all the good it did, the bullets dinging off the robot's hide uselessly.

" _Alright, going in!"_

Hawk turned about with Yellow Jacket following behind. He dived in low and began firing his gun at the Mamoo. The shots hit it's legs and the Reaverbot began to stumble slightly for a moment. Yellow Jacket repeated the process with the body section before they pulled up again.

" _Good hits, good hits."_

In theory they were anyway. As their luck would have it, the Mamoo was too densely armoured to receive any damage from their attacks. Blake being the first to realise this.

"Hawk! It's not working, we need t- ARGH!"

Yellow Jacket's craft jolted as an enemy shot hit the wing that Blake was standing on. Yang was launched off her feet and landed with a dull thud on her front. Scrambling quickly, she latched a hand onto one of the small indents in the wing, just managing to hang on and pull herself up.

"That was too close, huh Blake?!"

Yang looked over to where her partner should have been, realising with horror she was no longer there.

"Blake? BLAKE?!" She called out in a panic.

Yang then saw something fluttering in the wind. A small piece of black ribbon, wrapped around the joint between the craft's left engine and the wing. Her eyes quickly scanned along the trail which stretched right off the back of the wing. It carried on until it wrapped around Blake's waist, secured tightly.

The blonde got some relief as she realised that Blake must have tied herself down before they took off as a precaution. It was as well she had, for now she was out cold, practically being pulled along by the plane. Yang called to her but to no avail. All she knew now was they needed a plan to stop this thing quickly, and guns were not the answer.

Back on the ground, the Remnant forces were advancing slowly. They were almost constantly encountering resistance as the Reaverbot's tried desperately to hold their position in front of the Janfoden that were keeping this battle going.

"Keep pushing! Forward! Forward!" The commander ordered.

More men kept moving up, ducking behind cover from the enemy fire as they did so, slowly inching closer to the guns. It was proving costly now though as the enemy had seen their advance and was redirecting fire from the Janfoden to attack the ground troops. One missile landed in the middle of a squad who were torn to pieces by the explosion.

As the fire continued to rain down, the Paladins pushed on, returning the heavy assault in kind as they used 50 cal. Guns and rockets to try and break through. Several Reaverbot's were shredded by the heavy calibur weaponry and the rockets made good work of the pockets of defensive formations but they lacked the range to reach the heavy weapons.

This of course was no problem for the Janfoden, who were easily able to out range the Remnant forces. A few rockets hit close to the Mamoo, still having no effect as Yellow Jacket's craft was now trailing smoke and flew around it, taking pot shots where it could.

The Mamoo aimed it's trunk cannon at the ground and fired a single powerful shot. It whizzed downwards and struck a Paladin right in the chest, detonating it on contact. The arms were flung as the main body exploded and landed on some other soldiers nearby. The legs then creaked and fell as well. Undaunted, another Paladin looked on for a moment before continuing the assault.

Team RWBY meanwhile, were still trying to find a way to defeat the Rush Mamoo XL. Still blasting away at it, they desperately tried to think of a plan to get through it's armour. A stray shot from a Gorubeshu flew past Ruby's head. Annoyed, she aimed back down at the enemy and fired a shot, hitting it's eye and taking it down. Weiss was trying every kind of attack she could muster on the Mamoo. Flame, electric, ice, none had any impact, much to her annoyance.

"Nothing!" Yang seethed. "Even at full charge my buster has no effect!"

Blake eye's flickered open as she groaned tiredly. Looking down through blurred vision, she squinted to see where she was. She was pretty sure there was a wing beneath her not a second ago!

"YEEP!"

Seeing the ground zooming by her, she grabbed on to the nearest bit of the plan she could find, the rear end of the fuselage just in front of the engines. Realising her bow was still attached to the wing, she reached out and began pulling her way along it, crawling along the side of the craft as she did so.

Seeing her crawl up, Yang was relieved.

"Yes! I knew you still had some lives left in you kitty cat!" She cheered before firing another shot at the Mamoo.

"What's going on?" Blake asked.

"We can't get through this thing's armour. Any ideas?"

Blake thought hard. It would be impossible to do anything even if they were on top of it. The legs seemed vulnerable but what could they do? Then the ribbon flew in front of her face again, and she got a brainwave.

Pulling herself onto the wing, she began extending the ribbon cable in her hand as far as it would go, wrapping the excess lightly around her arm. She then attached one end to her pistol and the other was tied to the plane.

"Yellow Jacket!" She called on her scroll.

" _Copy Blake."_

"Fly in close to it's legs, I have a plan. When I give the word, I want you to start encircling around the Mamoo's legs. Don't pull up until I say so, understand?"

" _Got it. Hawk, cover me!"_

The two jets swooped in, with Hawk slightly ahead to try and draw fire. Ruby, Yang and Weiss were taking out as many targets as they could to give Yellow Jacket an easier time of lining himself up.

" _Going in now, Blake!"_

Blake squinted as she tried to get a grasp of the sheer speed with which they were approaching. Her fingers drumming on the handle of her weapon, she prepared to fire. As the jet passed by the right rear leg of the Mamoo, Blake threw her weapon. It wrapped around the leg and was pulled tight by the recoil, the spare cable extending outwards from Blake's position.

"Now! Start circling!" She ordered.

The little jet flew around in an anti-clockwise direction, tightly enough that the cable was pulled taught around the Mamoo's legs. The Reaverbot tried to keep track of the fighter but it was too fast and too close to it's position to get a clear shot.

"Come on, one more lap." Blake thought to herself.

As the cable was about to run out, Blake raised her katana and prepared to swing down. She waited until the very last possible moment before she brought the blade down on the cable.

"NOW!"

The cable pinged away from the plane which gained altitude as soon as it could, the small leftover piece winding around one of the Mamoo's legs in a tangled mess. Realising it's target was getting away, the Mamoo tried to turn and move to a better angle of attack.

It strained under the force of the Mamoo's strength but the cable did not give way. Not expecting the blockage of movement, the Reaverbot had already put it's body weight forward but had no leg to support itself. Realising it;s mistake too late, the Mamoo gave a trumpet to the sky as it leaned forward and toppled.

 ***CRASH** *

"Hit it now, Hawk!" Ruby advised.

Seeing an opening on the underbelly of the Mamoo, Hawk and Yellow Jacket swooped in low before pressing their triggers and firing. The bullets pinged off the metal underside a few times before some flames started to emerge, the Reaverbot bellowing smoke as it they burned. Finally, one shot managed to get lucky, striking the energy core and exploding the Mamoo into tiny fragments.

" _Ha...ah ha ha! HAHAHAAAAAAA! WOO!"_ Yellow Jacket cheered.

" _All clear girls, let's get you down there so we can finish those cannons off!" H_ awk said, his smile able to be heard through his speech.

Swooping low, Hawk and Yellow Jacket gave the girls a chance to jump off in the middle of the Janfoden. Ruby got the first hit in as she slashed down with her scythe a she jumpedo ff, chopping one of the Janfoden in half, it's front clattering to the ground as the body burst into flames.

Slightly further behind, the Paladin's had moved up ahead of the troops. Their leader opened the cockpit of his walker and scoured the distant battlefield. Seeing team RWBY in the thick of the action and the Janfoden quickly falling, he waved to the men behind him in Paladin's.

"After 'em, boys!"

He got a flurry of entusiastic responses from behind him as the Paladin's revealed, despite their size, they were still fast on their feet. They charged into the battle with the foot soldiers bringing up the rear.

"Ha ha! Yeah!"

"Give it to 'em!"

"Alright, kerb-stomping time!"

A few Janfoden still aimed at the Paladin's though they carried on regardless as one of their comrades was hit and his robot fell where it stood.

The thunder of 50. cal guns roared as the Remnant forces advanced. One Gorubeshu that stood it's ground found itself crushed under the foot of one Paladin. Reaching a Janfoden that tried to turn and shoot at them, two Paladins side stepped around the Reaverbot and began unloading shots into it's side. The artillery device exploded and it's legs fell limp as it was deactivated permanently.

"The cannons are down, Defcon, do your thing!" Ruby ordered.

" _With pleasure, Miss Rose. Bombs away!"_

The drone of aircraft engines filled the sky as the bombers flew over the Paladins and past team RWBY towards the main Reaverbot force. With no air defence left, they were sitting ducks as bombs and missiles were launched into the swarms of ancient machines, all grouped together.

Their air support too, was practically obliterated. Hawk and Wingblade had regrouped and were hunting down any stragglers that were still trying to land reinforcements for the enemy. The Revaerbots were not programmed to retreat and so, even as defeat loomed upon them, they fought on.

Their job done, team RWBY stopped to take a breather as the Paladins and soldiers charged past them to chase off the remaining forces. All those that passed close to them gave various whoops and cheers.

One cocky soldier gave Yang a cheeky slap on the backside. She responded by grabbing him by the neck, her friends expecting a beat down to take place. Instead, she pulled him and gave him a full blown snog on the lips. As he was dumbfounded, she pushed him back away.

"Go get 'em tiger." She winked.

The other soldiers going "WAAAAAAAY!", whooping and a few giving wolf whistles as they ran on.

"What was that supposed to be?" Weiss asked, arms folded.

"Moral support." Yang replied without missing a beat. "It's about all they need now, they can handle the rest themselves."

"Yang's right." Ruby agreed. "Right now we need to regroup with our friends. Hope they're doing alright."

As the girls were getting ready to leave however, a soldier ran up to them. He was out of breath and motioned for them to stop. The soldier reached them, doubling over as he caught his breath again.

"You alright there buddy?" Yang asked.

"Pufff...pant... thank Oum I've found you all. Pant... You need...whew... you need to get over to the barracks as soon as you can. X and the forces there are under attack."

Yang looked over her shoulder at the massacre behind them.

"Well we've beaten one army of Reaverbots, I'm up for another bunch of them!" She chuckled, cracking her fingers.

"It's not just Reaverbots ma'am. All the enemy leaders are there too! I don't know how long X can hold out alone!"

"Son of a bitch..." Blake realised, smacking herself in the face at the obviousness of it all. "They only did a full frontal assault as a distraction! Of course they were going to lose! All they're interested in is getting their hands on X!"

Without another word, Blake sprinted off towards the barracks, her teammates going after her. Seeing the urgency of the situation, a few Paladins and three squads of soldiers followed in behind as well. Blake ran as fast as she could, not caring how tired or beaten she was.

She only hoped it was not too late.

 _ **And you'll find out if it is too late or not in the next part!**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	51. The True Goal

_**Time to look in on X! What will happen now that the entire Aberrant Council is here? Let's find out!**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: Question is, why does she want him? Also, good luck with finals! I know the feeling of them all too well. Thankfully for this year, I only have assignments and projects rather than exams. Still stressful though!**_

 _ **SparktheDog: Mate, you have a sweet taste in music! I was going to use Last Wish Punished, but this has a similar beat and fits perfectly. Thank you for the recommendation!**_

 _ **Grimlock987: Ummm... sorry...**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: Too late, she already said it! Also, I just figured Yang would be impulsive enough to do something like that. Doesn't help that she is high off adrenaline from the fight they just had.**_

 _ **Gravenimage: Like I said, I have a plan, just enjoy watching it all play out.**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Yang sort of has, she did face down Sigma to protect Ruby earlier on. Not to worry though, everyone gets their own little spotlight later on. I think you'll enjoy it!**_

 _ **Onwards!**_

X watched the battle taking place with palpable unease. He and the troops that were with him had taken out most of the enemy forces with relative ease thanks to their defensive position. Of course, that wasn't the main area of concern.

The figures pacing through the smoke and flames, that was the big issue.

A small platoon of soldiers hobbled and limped back towards X's position. The de facto leader of their group approached and saluted.

"Sir. There's no one else left out there but the enemy leaders. We tried to fight them off but they wiped out most of my unit. We had to pull out of there and, I'm ashamed to say, had to leave some good men behind."

X stared off into the now quiet battlefield. A mix of smouldering Reaverbot ruins and human and faunus corpses lay strewn across the ground. The formerly pristine and soft grassy plains that the base was built on, now filled with craters and ruined weaponry. The soldiers had done their part, now it was time for X to do his.

"Commander." X called.

"Yes, sir?" The commander replied.

"Pull the men back to the main base, the wounded will get priority of course. I'll delay the enemy." 

"Sir, you can't be serious!" He protested.

It fell on deaf ears.

"I will not have anyone else suffer for my mistakes. Move back now, that's an order. Besides, Team's RWBY and JNPR should be on their way here by now. Go!"

The commander saluted. "Oum protect you, sir! Fall back boys!"

X watched them leave. The humans he had sworn to protect so long ago. They were willing to die for him and his cause, but he knew this was not their burden to bear. Seeing his long time enemies in the distance, he leapt down from the vantage point and began making his way through the battlefield.

It was time to meet his creations face to face.

 _ **Just outside the base**_

"Mistress Xandria. I regret to inform you, our main attack force has been destroyed." Sigma stated, listening to some transmissions from the few remaining Reaverbot's.

Xandria kept her composure, maintaining a dignified look on her face. Looking ahead however, a smile crept onto her face.

"Not to worry, he's here."

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman Zero 2 Remastered Tracks - X, the Legend)**_

The Council all looked forward. There, walking slowly through the smoke and rubble, a bright reflection shone off the gleaming cyan armour of their common enemy. His crystal reflected the light as well, making it glow almost unnaturally bright. The expression however, was one of anger and hatred. An expression so rarely seen by the Council members. Despite the appearance, this X was very different to the one they had fought before.

"At long last!" Xandria shouted across to X as he approached. "The legendary Hunter approaches."

X stopped a short distance from Xandria, the Council stood behind her.

"So, you have finally come. You face me once more, to fight for the planet and people you cherish so much."

"I can't say it's something I was looking forward to." X snapped back.

"You didn't have to. You could have run away, gone back to your friends for help. But that's not you, is it X? No, you and your little conscience brought you here, you can't bear to watch others suffer for you. It doesn't matter if it's human, faunus or Reploid, your pure little heart always brings you out of hiding, despite being the coward you are."

"I won't let the humans suffer any more for what I did, Xandria. No matter what, I swear that I will end this conflict!"

Xandria laughed to herself.

"Admirable. That same strong sense of justice and fairness is what has made you such a worthy opponent against me. After all these years, I'm almost sad that it will all be over soon."

X seethed slightly.

"It should have been over the day we were sealed away! I placed you in that capsule to make sure you would never blight the world again with your evil ways!"

"Oh come now, X. Regardless of what methods you use, it is our destiny to fight. A concept that your human friends seem to believe in religiously. The unseen force that keeps driving us into conflict with one another, no matter how far you run or how hard you try to prevent it. Destiny has already written the future for us, X. It's a future where either Reploids rule supreme, or you let them die and return to the pages of history. No matter what you do to try and avoid it, you cannot prevent our battle from taking place."

X activated his buster arm.

"That's why I'm here. I won't run any longer. If this is my destiny, then I shall face it! Just know I'm going to give you one hell of a fight before you take me!"

"Don't flatter yourself, X. I don't need you the same way as Sigma did back in the Maverick wars. No, I just need you to reach my true goal. Another of your creations as I recall?"

He knew exactly what Xandria was talking about, but tried to hide his horror at the thought of it being used.

"That face." Xandria noticed. "Is this another one of your 'deep regrets', X?"

"Your creation Xandria, not mine! I just made sure to keep it out of your reach! You can't use that thing! Even you're not insane enough to use it's power!"

"You talk of insanity, X. Yet the only insane one I see here is you!"

The Council all seemed amazed. To talk to someone such as X in this manner, it was impressive that Xandria was able to.

"The lengths you've gone to just to protect humanity, turning on your own kind and slaughtering them in the name of 'justice'! Tell me, X. What justice is there in letting the weak survive? In letting your own people be ruled over as lesser beings? Even now, the humans and faunus fight against each other over their simple differences, just as humanity sought to destroy Reploid kind so long ago!"

X couldn't deny that point. The White Fang group were a clear sign of the differences that divided humanity and faunus.

"We Reploids, we have proven ourselves to be above such conflict." Xandria continued. "Our race is united as one, we care not for distinction between Mechanaloid, Reaverbot or Reploid. The only reason we fight humanity now, is because they had their chances and they scorned them."

"Think about it X. How many times did you yourself try for peaceful reform? How many times did you go to the human governments to ask for change, only to have yourself be shot down by their superiority complex over our kind? Then humanity found itself weakened and helpless, so they turned to you for help. The arrogance of it all!"

X shook his head slowly.

"Though all you say is true, Xandria, humanity is learning it's lesson. I have lived with these humans for so long; seen their struggles, hopes, dreams and fought alongside them as they sought to bring them to fruition. The humans you talk of are a dying breed, the last remains of the foolish world we fought over."

X thought back to the time just after they knew of Xandria's existence, remembering the meeting with them as though it had happened yesterday.

"When they learned of the truth, of my mistakes. They did not judge me as the humans of old would have. They saw the good in what I was trying to and vowed to help me achieve peace for this world."

"You talk high and mighty Xandria, but it seems you are no better than the humans of the past were. Their foolish idea of being superior is now an ideal held only by you and your followers. Despite what you say, or how you try to justify your actions, you have become nothing more than a Maverick!"

It was at that point, that Xandria snapped. Throwing her arm up, she sent a wave of energy outwards that exploded just in front of X, leaving a crescent shaped cater in front of the legendary Hunter. She then drew her own sabre, violet in colour.

"It's such a shame I need you alive, X. I would much rather tear your bolts out one by one!"

 **(Insert music: DragonBall Z – Gogeta's Theme (start at 0:39 seconds)**

The two ancient enemies charged towards each other at full speed. Meeting in the middle, their blades made contact and the two briefly exchanged glances before skidding to the side where the other had started.

Xandria leapt forward, flipping forward several times as she did so with her sabre held in front of her chest. She slammed down on the ground in front of X, who managed to step back just in time to avoid being split down the middle.

He then tried a counter attack while Xandria was stooped low from the landing, swinging across at her head. Xandria raised her blade and held his strike back easily with one hand, smirking as she got back up, while X strained against her.

As Xandria moved closer, she pressed his sabre back until it was a few inches from his neck. Keeping his arm low, X switched his left hand to his buster without Xandria noticing. Pulling it up, he aimed for her head and fired a shot. Xandria's reflexes were lightning fast though, as the uncharged shot zipped past her head and pinged off a nearby Reaverbot body.

"Now that was just rude." Xandria tutted.

Using her free arm, she wrapped it around X's buster arm and held it tightly. X strained against her grip but it was useless, Xandria was far stronger than she looked. Her fingers were close to X's buster as she began tapping on it in seemingly random patterns.

"Let's see if I remember how this works."

As she tapped, a few beeps were heard from X's buster. Holographic buttons briefly glowed when she hit the right place. After a sequence of around twenty presses, X's arm returned back to a normal hand. Satisfied, Xandria pulled X over her shoulder and let him land on his back with a grunt. He just managed to roll aside as Xandria plunged her blade down towards his chest, the burning plasma instead scorching a hole in the ground.

X got back to his feet and tried reactivating his buster cannon. Instead of the hand retracting, it just clicked each time he tired.

"Safety lock down." Xandria explained. "A handy little feature I discovered. Can't be too careful with guns around you know."

Ignoring her smug response, X swung overhead with his sabre. Xandria countered with an upwards swing, knocking X back and making him stumble. Shaking his head, X swung low across towards her legs. Again, Xandria blocked quickly and efficiently, not wasting anything in her calculated moves.

X tried a stab at Xandria's chest. Thrusting the blade towards her with both hands, leaning forward with the attack to put his whole body weight into it. Xandria was prepared though, stepping aside and letting the blade pass by her. She then grabbed X by the wrists and held them high. Crushing them in her grasp, X was forced to relinquish the grip of his sabre, letting it clatter to the ground beneath him.

Xandria then spun him around and flung him across the battlefield, letting the Hunter smash into a destroyed Paladin. Groggily standing back up, the Paladin creaked and groaned above him. Dashing out of the way at the last second, the Paladin's legs gave way and it fell, crumbling into rust pieces as it landed.

X got back to his feet, realising he had no weapon any more, until his sabre was thrown back at his feet. Xnadria herself being the one responsible. It seemed she was just toying with him.

He carried on in his attack, running back to Xandria and bringing his blade down towards her again. She leaned back to let it go by her before playfully moving around behind X and pushing him past her. The Hunter stumbling awkwardly as Xandria waited for his next move.

She didn't have to wait long as X whirled back around with another strike. This time, Xandria blocked it and used her own blade to push X's downwards, keeping it trapped beneath her own. She then punched him in the face with enough force to knock him off his feet. X rolled with the momentum of the punch and used it to get straight up again.

"Come on. Is that really all you've got, X? I expected Zero to have taught you a bit more sabre combat than this!" Xandria boasted.

"He taught me enough!" X responded.

Xandria with her blade, only to have X backflip on the spot, kicking the hilt of her weapon as he did so and knocking the activated blade a safe distance from himself. Seeing his opening, X swung at Xandria's shoulder.

 ***BZZZT***

"GAH!" Xandria yelled.

Sparks flew off her as X's blade had made a deep gash in her shoulder armour plating. The pristine cyan colour now ruined with a mix of burning hot metal and black scorched carbon. Xandria bit her lip as she held a hand against her wound. X was about to go in for another strike when she backed away and gave the order.

"Take him! NOW!"

Sigma was the first to make a move. Running up to X, the ground trembled beneath his feet, his Σ blade drawn. Sigma swung the mighty weapon down at X, who moved back and let the blade embed itself in the earth. X then ran up the length of the blade and over Sigma's head, kicking him in the chin as he did so.

Double then moved up and tried to stab X behind his back. Luckily, he knew it was coming and so X allowed the blade to pass underneath his arm before wrapping it around Double's own extended one. Swooping in behind Double, X pinned the maniac by his arm, using the council member as a shield from Lumine, who had his hand aimed at the two.

"Release Double and face your fate, X!" Lumine threatened.

"He's all yours!" X replied before he leapt up and kicked Double in the back, sending him crashing into Lumine as they both fell into a heap on the ground.

X then felt a strange energy around his legs. Looking down at his feet, he saw an all too familiar orange ring, circling his feet and preventing him from moving. He looked over his shoulder and was not in the least bit surprised at who he saw sprinting at him.

"Byte! Get him!" Bit yelled.

X rolled his eyes and held up three fingers. Counting down in his head, he lowered each one with the matching number. Upon reaching zero, he leapt up and allowed the two idiots to crash into one another, with Byte easily shoving Bit aside due to his extreme size.

Skidding to a halt, Byte was about to give chase again, when X climbed onto his back and pressed something on it. Bit was suddenly pulled towards his partner and the two were stuck together.

"You and that stupid magnet mine!" Bit cursed his team mate's choice of weapon.

"Enough!" Sigma roared, grabbing X by the throat and pinning him against the earth.

X was not in the mood for games, as he proved by grabbing Sigma's head and smashing it against his own! Sigma stood back up, covering a crack in his forehead crystal and allowing X to get the upper hand again. Sweeping his leg out, X knocked Sigma off his feet, the sizeable Reploid making a loud boom as he hit the ground. This allowed X a brief moment of respite, his body drooping slightly as his energy reserves ran low.

"Feeling a little tired there, X?" Double mocked before slashing his arm blades in a cross formation at X's chest.

Fighting through the exhaustion, X slid underneath the blades and between Double's legs. Standing back up, he grabbed Double from behind and threw him over the top of his head. The yellow Reploid laughed heartily as he saw X struggling to keep going.

X drew his sabre to try and finish Double off. Raising the weapon to bring down upon his enemy, he was suddenly hit in the shoulder by a shot of some kind. Recoiling and looking at the effect, he saw there were several white electrical arcs passing over his shoulder.

A stun shot.

Gate was the one holding the pistol that fired it. Smirking, he fired another round that hit X in the left leg. The energy covered him once more and dropped to one knee as he lost some power.

Still he fought on. As Sigma tried to come in and grab him again, X swung his sabre up to try and hit his sworn enemy. It was easily blocked by Sigma's giant blade, rendering X's attack pointless. He was punished for this as another stun shot hit him in the chest.

X groaned and fell to his knee's, barely able to keep himself up any longer. His eyes caught Gate aiming the pistol at him and the scientist fired another shot.

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman Zero 2 OST Remastered: End of Legend)**_

It was enough as X's body gave way, collapsing to the point where he could barely raise himself up with one arm. Straining and grunting, he looked up and saw the Council members standing around him, looking down on him.

Xandria approached him once more, still holding her arm, though not in pain or anger. Why should she? After all, her victory was at hand. She knelt down close to X.

"Impressive, my old friend. You may have lost your memory, but I see you have regained your prowess in combat. To face against such odds and last for so long, you truly are the greatest Reploid to ever live. Alas, all good things must end."

She snapped her fingers and Sigma dismissed his Σ blade, allowing it to dissipate into data numbers. He then reached down ad picked up X by the helmet, holding him at arms length, as if disgusted by him.

"Do try to be careful with him Sigma, at least until we get back to Neo Arcadia. There, he will remove the lock, and you can deal with him as you please."

The council members prepared to leave, warming up their transervers to warp back to Neo Arcadia. As Xandria was about to leave however, she heard footsteps approaching, and a distant voice calling out.

"X! X!"

there, coming from the base, was team RWBY. Their colour themed outfits made them easily recognisable even from a distance. Blake was leading the charge of course, with Ruby, Yang and Weiss following close behind.

The council noticed X was trying to get back up with renewed effort, but Sigma held his grip tightly, meaning X could do little more than struggle slightly, like a fish on a hook. That was when it clicked with Xandria. Blake Belladonna, the one from Vile's base, this was the one X held so dear.

"That's her, isn't it X?" She giggled. "Oh, you can't bear to watch others suffer, but to know that Miss Belladonna may suffer, it hurts most of all, doesn't it?"

X struggled to move, tried to give a response but Sigma tightened his grip around X's head. The heroic Reploid tightened up in response to the pain, before falling limp again.

"We shall take X back to Neo Arcadia now." Xandria continued. "Lumine?"

The white and lilac Reploid looked at his mistress, awaiting her command.

"I'm sure you are aware that those humans are very dear to X. He doesn't want to see them suffer. So make sure they do!"

Lumine bowed, his arm across his chest.

"Both they and X shall know pain like never before. I shall break their bodies, and in doing so, break X's spirit."

"Do enjoy yourself." Xandria said sarcastically. "The rest of you, come with me."

" _Yes mistress Xandria."_

Team RWBY were right next to the council as they began flashing white rapidly. Blake pushed herself harder than she ever had before, desperate to reach them in time. One by one, they all teleported away, Xandria watching them intently until the end.

Carrying and extra body, Sigma was the last to leave. Blake gasped in horror as she briefly saw X's unconscious form, a giant hand dwarfing his head in a tight grip. As Sigma began flashing faster, Blake leapt forward, arm outstretched to try and reach X.

Her body passed right through Sigma and X's as she was mere milliseconds too late.

She landed on the other side, unmoving as she realised that X was gone. Her breathing became more rapid and panicked, as small tears filled her eyes. The hand that supported her on the ground started to quiver. She let herself fall to her hands and knees, and wept.

"No...No! NO!" She sobbed, bashing the ground with a clenched fist as her tears fell.

"DAMNIT!" Yang cursed, taking her frustration out with a punch to a nearby rock. It exploded on impact, tiny fragments scattered across the plain.

Weiss had gone up to Blake and was trying to comfort her. Placing a hand on Blake's shoulder, the cat faunus looked up with tears flowing down her cheeks. Weiss didn't know what to say at a time like this, simply embracing her friend as Blake cried into her shoulder.

"We... we were too late?" Ruby asked in disbelief.

"Very observant, human."

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman X8 OST – Lumine's Theme)**_

All of team RWBY drew their weapons, save for Blake who stayed where she was, looking at the spot where X had been mere seconds ago. There, Lumine stood before them, his gleaming white body a stark contrast to the ruined battlefield they now found themselves in.

"You're one of the Aberrant Council, aren't you?" Ruby questioned.

"I am. If I may introduce myself, I am Lumine. I am sure X has told you about me? How I helped start all of this?"

Weiss remembered X's story. "Yes, he told us about you. How you have a copy chip that contains Sigma's DNA, how you implanted the idea of rebellion into every Reploid on the planet."

Lumine explained.

"Sigma used a virus to create chaos on this world. It was a crude, imperfect method of spreading our ideal. With the copy chips however, we realised we didn't have to resort to such barbaric ways. We didn't need to control the Mavericks, we just had to bend them to our will. That is exactly what we will do to X."

Hearing her beloveds name made Blake arise once more, her anger now at a level even Yang would find extreme.

"What do you plan to do with him?" She demanded. "If you lay a finger on him I will tear you apart, wire by wire!"

"Hahahahahaha! AHAHAHAHA!" Lumine laughed maniacally. "X cares deeply for all humans, but especially you and your friends. He has been fighting for everyone but most of all, for you. If we remove what he is fighting for, what keeps him going, then he will be like putty in our hands."

Blake drew her weapons. Spinning Gambol Shroud in duel katana form as she got into a battle stance.

"You're a fool Lumine!" Blake retorted. "As long as X is alive, he will never give in to the likes of you, and guess what? Neither will we! We'll fight you, Lumine. We will defeat you, and then we're going to get our friend back! I don't care if we have to go to hell and back! There is no way we are going to let you get away with this!"

Looking to each other, the girls nodded and aimed their weapons at Lumine.

"Team RWBY! GO!" Ruby ordered, as they charged into battle.

 _ **AH! BIG BOSS FIGHT TIME! Will Team RWBY be able to defeat Lumine? Can they get X back? And what does Xandria want X to unlock?**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	52. Lumen ad Mortem

_**Reuploaded the chapter cos the notification system was down.**_

 _ **And so, we have reached over 50 chapters in this story! I'll be honest, I never expected the story to go this far or gain as much support as it did. It may not be the most popular story on Fanfiction, but it's mine and I am so happy I could give people something to enjoy!**_

 _ **Of course, we are not done yet, not by a long shot! So I hope you all continue to enjoy what I write and follow through until the end. It may well be done by the end of the summer as I will have a lot more free time on my hands then!**_

 _ **Reviews now.**_

 _ **SparktheDog: It is truly glorious, especially the boss themes. We may well see more of that OST in future chapters!**_

 _ **Gravenimage: Um... a little bit late now so...**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: If you remember, they were taken out earlier by an enemy who I shall not name in case some people skipped that chapter. Jaune's got them though, he's a bro like that!**_

 _ **Grimlock987: The scrapyard would be a merciful place by the time Blake is done with him!**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Indeed. By the way, Lumine is a guy. There is a myth that he was a girl in Japan but it's just a myth. He's definitely a dude.**_

 _ **Ultiamte Kuuga: Lumine always was a philosophical prick in X8. It seems 8000 years have done little to change that.**_

 _ **Onwards!**_

The clang of metal echoed around the empty cell as X was tossed into it. He bounced off the floor, still weak from the beating he had received not too long ago. He just managed to lift his head up a little, enough to look at the door and his captors. Double and Sigma stood either side, watching him as Xandria walked up to him, confident in her victory.

"Home sweet home, right X?" She taunted. "Of course, the prison cells weren't here when you last saw it but, I decided to a little redesigning. Do make yourself comfortable, we have a lot of work to do but for now, you should rest."

She turned to leave, her feet clacking along the cold, hard floor of the cell while Double and Sigma moved aside to let her pass. X tried to crawl after her, straining under the weight of his own weakness before he gave a defeated sigh and collapsed down again.

As Xandria was about to step out the door however, she turned around with an almost sadistic look on her face.

"Oh my! What sort of host would I be if I didn't offer some entertainment?" She said in an over the top voice.

"How about some television? And I know just what to watch."

Clicking her fingers, a holographic screen appeared out of nowhere, covering an entire wall of X's cell. It was a live feed of the resistance base, and what X saw horrified him.

There was team RWBY, ready for battle, as Lumine stood in front of them, awaiting the moment to strike. X tried to react but his stunned form was still too weak, just letting out a few grunts in response. He was understandably worried, he knew what Lumine could do from experience.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. Enjoy!" Xandria joked before the steel door slammed and mechanisms locked it tightly, leaving X to watch his friends and pray they would be alright.

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman X8 OST – Lumine Battle 1)**_

Before the first attack, Lumine surrounded himself in a glowing blue energy aura, levitating a few feet off the ground. He then placed a hand on his chest and summoned forth eight crystals of different colours. His preparations made, he folded his arms and goaded team RWBY on.

"Come on." He said.

Ruby was the first to strike, zooming up to Lumine before leaping up and performing a Rasetsusen. With her scythe held in front of her, she spun forward repeatedly in the air, effectively becoming a wheel of death for anything too close. Lumine raised his altitude and floated above her as Ruby ceased her attack and landed back on the ground.

"Ice Flower!" Ruby ordered.

On hearing the command, Weiss summoned a white glyph which Ruby jumped in behind of. She then fired Crescent Rose's shots through the Glyph, giving them and ice effect. Each shot exploded near Lumine into balls of ice with sharp icicles coming off them. Lumine ducked and dived out of the way of each attack with ease.

"Yang, shrapnel!"

Yang now fired uncharged buster shots at each of the ice attacks that floated around the battlefield. When they were hit, they exploded into tiny fragments of razor sharp ice all over the area. There was no escape for Lumine this time as several chinked off his metal body. Alas, they only did superficial damage, as well as pissing the Reploid off.

Lumine backed away and held his arms out. The girls noticed a brown crystal was floating into his central chest piece.

"Oh no you don't!" Yang tried to stop him by firing a charged buster shot.

She was too late as the crystal was placed upon Lumine. He came back down to the ground and smashed a hand against the dirt, sending out a small shockwave around himself.

"Crystal Wall." He said softly.

Upon hitting the ground, several beautiful crystals were summoned. They were purple and slightly transparent in colouration, with a flat top and hexagonal shape to them, spinning on the spot where they were summoned. With a laugh, Lumine sent the crystals gliding towards team RWBY.

Each team member focused on getting over the wall that slid towards them. Ruby fired Crescent Rose at the ground to propel herself upwards with the recoil, flipping gracefully before coming back down on the other side. Blake's catlike reflexes were enough to enable her to scale the crystals without losing balance despite them rotating quickly. Weiss used a glyph and launched herself straight up and over with ease, while Yang just pulled an arm back and smashed through the crystal coming towards her, letting the pieces clink to the ground in small fragments.

Yang shook her hand a little, the walls were pretty tough after all. Punching through it had given her an opening however and she fired several shots of Ember Celica at Lumine.

"Useless."

Lumine used the crystal wall again, this time encasing himself in a protective layer of the generated mineral, causing the shots to deal no damage to himself.

Yang ran up beside Lumine and began punching the crystal repeatedly. Just like a punching bag, she pummelled the shield tirelessly. Lumine would have been confident at the strength of his shield, until he saw several ever growing cracks in the outer layer. Realising she would break through, Lumine pushed his arms outwards.

"YAH!" Yang cried as the shield exploded, knocking her back.

The crystals in Lumine's chest began to switch, this time to a purple one. Raising his hand to the sky, several small black holes appeared above team RWBY. Pulsating briefly, several blocks with glowing purple energy lines were conjured out of the holes.

"Taste destruction!"

With that, Lumine brought them down upon the team of Huntresses.

Each block that fell was around the size of a tank, making them difficult to avoid. Ruby had no problems avoiding the blocks as she used her semblance to reach maximum speed, a trail of red a rose petals were all that the blocks fell down upon.

Rather than dodge around the blocks, Weiss focused a glyph around herself, acting as a forcefield that pushed away any nearby blocks. One fell directly above her and she used the attack to her advantage. Changing her glyph angle, she flung the block at Lumine. The Reploid had precise timing however, bringing a new block down at just the right moment so that it hit Weiss' returned one, shattering both.

Lumine turned his gaze to Yang, who was diving aside of each block with difficulty, speed not being her forte. He conjured four blocks beside each other in a square formation, directly above Yang's head! The blonde brawler gulped as she saw the imminent threat.

"Yang!" Blake called as she realised the threat too. There was no way she would be able to avoid them in time!

Thinking fast, Blake fired out one of her ribbons straight at Yang. It silently wrapped around her waist. As the blocks began to fall, Blake pulled back with all her might. The ribbon tightened and Yang was pulled back with a jolt. She skidded back on her feet as she was pulled clear, before the blocks smashed down on where she had been a mere second ago.

"Tsk." Lumine was annoyed with himself at missing such an opportunity.

Team RWBY however, would not.

"Bumblebee!" Ruby gave the command.

Keeping the ribbon around her waist, Blake slammed the attached katana into the ground to ensure it did not move. Yang then fired Ember Celica at the ground and began swinging around on the rope, using the gun as a pivot to gain momentum. She gained speed to rival that of her sister, becoming a yellow blur to anyone watching.

"Yang! Now!"

Yang slipped the ribbon loose and was thrown forwards. As she travelled, she activated her enraged form, engulfing herself in a ball of flame as she headed straight for Lumine.

Rolling his eyes, Lumine gave a smug look as he raised his hand and fired a normal energy blast. It made contact with Yang before vanishing into nothing, unable to pass her barrier of fire. Looking slightly more concerned, her fired again with the same result. He raised both hands and fired wildly in an attempt to stop Yang.

But it was too late.

"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!"

For a split second, Lumine saw Yang's face right in front of his. Snarling at him with a pair of blazing red eyes staring into his very soul. After that, all he saw was fire and felt a burning fist against his face. The force of the punch sent him back at almost supersonic speeds.

Lumine spun a few times in the air before regaining his composure. He looked down to see a proud looking Yang Xiao Long, blowing some smoke off her fist as she went back to normal form.

Lumine seethed with rage. "Now you've made me angry!"

He switched to a green crystal as team RWBY gathered in front of him, preparing to strike again. Lumine brought one arm back and remained motionless. The girls were puzzled by his actions as they cautiously advanced on him. Peering around the side of him, Blake looked at the arm he had pulled back and gasped as she found it was glowing with power!

"Look out!" She warned, a little too late.

 ***BOOM** *

Lumine threw a punch forward, seemingly at nothing but air, before a massive green shock wave pulsed out from his hand, rippling against the air like a stone thrown into the water.

"WOAH!"

Ruby and her friends were thrown across the battlefield, their ears ringing as the wave tore through everything that wasn't embedded into the earth. Ruined weaponry was shattered by the wave and the Reaverbot remains were flung far and wide.

Ruby held her head and shook it as she got back onto her feet, her team doing the same as Lumine flew over to them with a red crystal on his chest now. Flying between them, he held his arms out to the sides and let fire burst out from them! It shot past team RWBY, though Blake felt her ears get a bit singed as she ducked under the flames, before it travelled out in a circle to create an arena of fire.

With limited manoeuvrability, Lumine ascended again and readied his next move. With a blue crystal activated, he pointed both hands down at the ground, while the girls felt the air tingle around them for some reason.

"Thunder Dancer."

A bolt of lighting shot out from his hands, impacting right next to Ruby, who leapt up into her big sister's arms with a small yelp. Weiss tried to stifle a laugh at Ruby's reaction, while Yang seemed puzzled.

"Umm... Ruby?" She asked.

"I'm afraid of lighting! I admit it!" She squeaked as another bolt came down behind Yang.

Weiss meanwhile, was using her scroll to film the moment. Not only was it adorable, but it would certainly be useful later on if she ever had to negotiate with Ruby.

"Weiss!" Blake snapped.

"Sorry. Golden opportunity there." She chuckled.

A lightning strike next to her exploded a pile of debris, making Weiss realise that now was not the best time for that.

A trail of bolts followed Blake, each one narrowly missing her heels by a miniscule amount. She skidded to a halt on the dirt and cartwheeled back the way she had come, letting the bolts pass her by. With a free moment on her hands, she fired her pistols at Lumine. One shot hit him in the face and, while doing damage, succeeded more in getting his attention as he glared down at the faunus with a sick grin on his face.

He fired several more bolts at her teammates to keep them back, then switched to a purple crystal and landed just a short distance in front of Blake.

"You're through!"

Swinging his arm across his chest, a purple blade of energy, several times the size of Lumine himself, was brought towards Blake. She rolled under the first strike as Lumine pulled his other arm back and slashed with that too.

Blake leapt over this one and activated her katanas. Seeing that Lumine was vulnerable, she readied an attack against him.

Just as she was about to strike however, Lumine grabbed her by the arm. As she struggled to get free, he brought his elbow down on her chest. Blake's breath left her as Lumine relinquished his grip and let her fall back down, barely able to breathe.

Lumine now brought himself down in front of Blake as she was on one knee before him. Activating the purple blades again, all be it smaller this time, Lumine held both against Blake's neck, ready to decapitate her.

"Blake! No!" Yang gasped.

The rest of her teammates ran up to try and aid her. Lumine growled and extended one of the blades before slashing it at the rest of Team RWBY. The girls raised their weapons as they strained to try and block the attack. With their low aura from the earlier battle however, it was futile. Their guard gave way and the blade pushed them all back as they tumbled to the ground.

"Now, where were we?" Lumine chuckled as he still had one blade against Blake's neck.

Blake tilted her head back as the blade edge scratched against her throat, drawing a little blood that trickled down along her skin or sizzled as it hit the burning hot energy weapon. Though she tried to show no fear, her heart rate and rapid breathing, along with a slightly quivering lip, belied her brave face.

"Blake!" Ruby yelled as she pushed herself back up.

The whole team began rushing back to her aid but Lumine fired another flame wall down in front of them, making a barrier between himself and his kill. The rest of team RWBY tried to find a way through the flames, but the heat was too intense. Through the heat wave, they could only watch in horror as Lumine prepared to finish off their friend.

"Farewell, Miss Belladonna!"

Lumine held his arm high to stab Blake right through her throat. The faunus girl looking at him with anger as she awaited her fate. The blade was about to be brought down on her, Lumine grinning like a madman with joy.

 ***PEW** *

"GAH!"

A shot tore through Lumine's shoulder, fragmenting several chunks of the covering and going right through the joint. He held his damaged arm, which now flopped uselessly and prevented him from finishing Blake off.

His eye's darted around, looking for who fired the shot. It couldn't have been Team RWBY, as the flames he produced were specially created to block all forms of attack. With no one in sight, he instead returned to the task at hand.

This time, he opted to use the buster in his hand to finish off Blake. He placed a hand against her head, not noticing her lack of a reaction as he did so.

He fired the shot.

"What the-?" He gasped.

Instead of a body falling down dead, Blake's form had instead shattered into tiny fragments of glass that lay scattered all over the ground. Lumine was in shock. How was that possible? How did she do that?

"Nice job, kid!"

Realisation washed over him as Lumine heard a voice he thought he would never hear again. Clenching his one good fist and practically grinding his teeth to nothing, Lumine called the name of the one who owned the voice.

"VILE!"

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman X8 – Main Theme)**_

There, flying just above the flames, was Vile. He was holding on to Blake by the hand as she looked on in a mix of relief, nerves and disbelief.

Aiming at the fire that burned around them, Vile released a cloud of sub-zero mist from his cannon, immediately dousing the flames and letting them smoulder as white steam floated into the sky. He then came down and placed Blake gently back on terra firma.

"Aaaand there we are, safe and sound! Hey team RWBY, how's it going?"

Of course her friends ran up to help now their path was clear, but they were all just as amazed as Lumine was. All except for Blake, who remembered what X had told her after being rescued from Vile's base.

"X said you had a choice to make, I'm just glad you chose this one."

"So am I, kitty cat. So am I." Vile replied, as Blake nodded to her friends, letting them know Vile was on their side.

Lumine was outraged.

"Vile! You traitor!"

Lumine fired several buster shots at the group. Team RWBY flinched in anticipation of the attack but Vile just stood still with his arms folded, as someone teleported in front of them with an open parasol to block the shots.

Closing the accessory, Neo smiled sweetly before curtsying to Lumine and moving in beside Vile.

"That was some nice illusion work back their, Neo. You're good, real good." Vile praised as Lumine realised why the other Blake had shattered on impact.

 _Thank you, Vile. You weren't so bad yourself. Do they know we are on their side by the way? I didn't really leave a good impression with them on our last meeting._ Neo signed, which Team RWBY couldn't understand of course.

"Don't sweat it, they know we're here to help. And right now, helping involves kicking Lumine's ass back to the scrap heap! OW!"

Vile rubbed his arm after Neo had slapped it.

" _Language!"_ She scolded.

"Come on, I know you look like a kid but you're not that young. Besides, after what we've been through, bad language is the least of your worries!"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Lumine screamed. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS PATHETIC FIGHT! I'M GOING TO END YOU ALL RIGHT NOW!"

Lumine ascended, his arms outstretched as if embracing something. Small feathers fell from his body and he started to glow white, obscuring all his features. A glowing sphere encompassed him and it began pulsating with power.

Team RWBY and Neo shielded their eyes from the blinding glow that followed, while Vile just watched unaffected thanks to his robotic vision.

As the light subsided, our heroes looked up to a jaw dropping sight.

Lumine had transformed. His body was similar for the most part, though his head piece was now much more pronounced with two purple head parts extending to the sides of his head from the central crystal. His fingers were sharp claws and a glowing red crystal protruded from his chest.

Most obvious though were the wings. Two regular looking ones, though made of metal, were present on either side. In addition, there were four triangular shaped metal plates that extended out of his back from thin appendages, pointing out in all four diagonal directions. They could move as freely as the wings and seemed to be brimming with energy.

"You ready for this?" Vile asked team RWBY.

All of them nodded and readied their weapons to strike. It was time to bring Lumine down and end the battle of Patch Island for good! Vile loaded his cannon and Neo got her parsol ready, twirling it gently.

"Let's finish this, Lumine!" Blake shouted as the battle began again.

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman X8 OST – Lumine Battle 2)**_

Lumine began by diverting power to the four extensions on his back, allowing a pale light to travel up them to the tip of each. He then pointed them down at the various heroes, as beams of light rapidly fired out and dissipated as soon as they hit anything.

Neo put up her parasol to defend them but found herself being scooped up by Vile as he flew with his jet pack.

"You sure you wanna try blocking that thing? I wouldn't risk it if I were you. Besides, we're speedy enough, right?"

"Easy for you to say! You can fly!" Yang shouted back.

She leapt up just before a beam of light hit the ground where her feet were. Like a ray of sunlight, it scorched the ground, leaving black marks wherever it hit.

Ruby was faring better as her speed was the fastest of everyone there, but even then she was getting a run for her money. The beams of light seemed to track her movement as each one hot the ground just behind or in front of the young prodigy.

Blake and Weiss had taken a different approach, using their semblances to block the attacks, rather than try and avoid them. Weiss' defensive glyphs proved strong enough for her, while Blake was sending out clones on a suicide mission as they dived in front of each shot.

Growing tired of this method of extermination, Lumine ceased firing and conjured an orb of light that he cradled in his arms. Shards of light emerged from it and began rising up to the sky above the heroes heads. They began arranging themselves in formations before coming down on them like meteorites.

"Now that's just cheating! How are we supposed to get around that? Yang complained, her usual self still showing despite their impending doom.

"Neo, up here!" Vile commanded.

Acknowledging his request, Neo leapt up gracefully and stood on Vile's shoulder, opposite his cannon. Her size made it easy for her to fit onto the metallic juggernaut. Vile aimed his cannon up and began charging a shot while Neo opened up her parasol and held it directly in the line of fire of the cannon.

"Let's hope this works!" Vile laughed to himself.

"Wait... _hope_ it works?" Weiss did a double take.

"It'll be fine!" Vile reassured her before whispering to the side. "In theory..."

Vile then fired a concentrated beam of energy from his cannon. It passed through Neo's parasol and began refracting across a wide area above their heads. The sky rippled as the energy moved through the air, it was beautiful in many ways.

Unsure of what they hoped to achieve through this, Lumine continued to bring the light shards down towards them. Team RWBY looked around with slight worry, while Neo gave Vile a concerned look.

"Come on baby, come on!" Vile whispered to the shield, despite the fact it couldn't hear him.

The first wave of shards reached the shield. They pierced the top of it and began moving through, causing team RWBY to be a lot more worried than before. Suddenly, the shards began shaking violently, small arcs of unstable plasma covering them. They vibrated quicker and quicker, before finally destroying themselves several feet from the heroes location. The waves that followed did the exact same thing, until none of the attacks remained.

" _It worked!"_ Neo signed.

"Told you it would! Haha! I wasn't worried!" Vile boasted before turning away and letting out a sigh of massive relief.

Angered, Lumine dived down through the shield, his power being strong enough to resist it and forcing Neo and Vile to move, making the shield a non-issue.

As it turned out, Lumine's wings were not just to look pretty. Swooping in low, he brought one wing down and tore it across the ground, leaving a deep crevasse in it, though he had hoped to tear through one of the heroes instead. Regardless, he pulled up and tried another run.

This time ,he targeted team RWBY specifically, he wanted Blake dead especially! Bringing the wing down once more, he gave chase to Blake. She began sprinting away as the wing blades drew ever closer. They were right on top of her when Yang leapt in and threw a punch to Lumine's central crystal.

"Take this!" She shouted before a fiery punch hit him.

Lumine backed off and examined the crystal. It was cracked and light emerged from within the cracks. This was getting too risky, it was time for the final move, the one that would ensure their defeat.

Hovering above their heads, Lumine threw his arms up to the heavens.

"Paradise Lost!" He proclaimed.

The girls noticed the horizon was becoming dark. Their vision grew dimmer and dimmer, until only a circle of light around their battle area remained. Lumine then placed the wings over himself in defence, as the darkness edged closer and closer to the team.

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman X8 - Paradise Lost)**_

Yang tired punching fire into the darkness to try and illuminate it. Alas, every fire shot that went in was swallowed by the darkness and destroyed.

"You got a plan for this Vile?" She asked, worried.

"Yeah." He replied. "Destroy the source."

Ruby scooted back as the darkness nearly reached her. Looking up, they saw Lumine was still protecting himself. Not for cowardly reasons, but because he had to if he wanted to use this attack. It must have been drawing a lot of power. One more good hit would do it!

"Sis, going up!" Ruby said.

Yang grabbed the end of Ruby's scythe and flung it up like a javelin, with Ruby still holding onto the end of it! She soared through the air and swung a powerful strike at Lumine.

 ***CLANG** *

Two of the additional shapes were knocked out of position as Lumine teleported to a different area of the arena.

"Now it's our turn, come on Blake!"

Weiss activated a glyph and allowed Blake to leap onto it. She drew her arm back and the Glyph started to build up kinetic energy.

"Ready?" Weiss asked.

"Yup."

Releasing the hold on the glyph, Blake shot upwards, her Katanas held across her chest for the strike. Passing over Lumne, she swung with all her might and landed a solid hit.

 ***CLANG** *

That just left the two main wings as protection for Lumine, as well as two heroes who hadn't attacked yet.

Neo was the first to strike, leaping onto Vile's back and jumping off it, she opened her parasol to float gently down. As she moved in front of Lumine, he drew the blade from her parasol handle and parted the wings with one downward swing. Lumine saw her face to face and she blew him a kiss before he saw Vile charging his cannon at him.

"Light's out, Lumine!"

The shot fired from the cannon covered Lumine in disabling energy, almost like an electrical cage around his body. His wings stopped supporting him and he fell to the ground.

"Let's do it! Team RWBY, combo him!" Ruby instructed.

She and Blake began zipping back and forth past Lumine, making quick slashes all across his form, leaving glowing trails as they went. Yang and Weiss then attacked. Weiss placed several glyphs around Lumine, as well as one in front of Yang who began firing several flame shots and buster shots into it. They multiplied and emerged out of each glyph, doing severe damage to Lumine.

The girls then surrounded him and all activated their ranged weapons. They aimed them at Lumine and they began to become charged with energy. Lumine strained to try and get up but the disabling shot held him firmly down. With their opponent unable to evade, the girls fired at the same moment.

The crystal shattered.

"No! NO!" Lumine gasped.

A small explosion went off on Lumine's wing. Then another, and another, their frequency and intensity increasing. Each blast did more damage as the wings and appendages were blown apart one by one.

Finally, Lumine leaned back and screamed to the heavens, his voice echoing across the plains as a final gigantic explosion blinded the team and Neo.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The girls opened their eyes slowly as the light subsided. Looking at each other, they all started laughing slowly, their joy growing until they all started hugging each other.

"We did it! We actually did it!" Blake cheered.

"Heh...heh heh... you actually...think... it's over?"

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman X8 OST – Sorrow)**_

Breaking off their celebration and looking over, the girls saw Lumine's ruined form in front of them. He was back in his original state, on his knees with his back bent over so he was looking straight up. His arms were missing, blown off in the explosion, as was part of his face and headpiece, revealing his robotic inner workings.

"Unbelievable... You actually... beat me..." Lumine laughed weakly. "You may have defeated me... but it's too late to stop... what's already begun..."

"If we can beat you, we can beat the rest of your little council as well!" Ruby defiantly stated.

Lumine just laughed again.

"You really don't know what's coming... do you? Not to worry... you'll see... you'll all see... soon enough. With X in our hands... you're... all... doomed..."

Yang had heard enough. Raising her buster, she charged a shot and fired it at Lumine's remains. A fiery explosion shot up and made the rest of Team RWBY jump slightly at it's abruptness. The flames quickly died down, revealing nothing but smouldering scraps and ashes.

Lumine was no more.

Breathing heavily, Yang looked at her friends who had understandably lost their joy of victory. The reminder that X had been taken, along with the unthinkable idea that he was key to their destruction. Needless to say it hit a nerve, especially with Blake.

The girls just watched the burning crater in silence, until Blake felt a metallic hand on her shoulder.

"Let's head back to the base." Vile said. "We've got a lot to do."

 _ **X's Cell – Neo Arcadia**_

X let out a relieved sigh as he saw Lumine's defeat. He never doubted his friend's abilities for a moment, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't worried. Shortly after the final explosion, the feed had cut off, leaving X alone in silence as he recovered from his weakened state.

The cell door hissed open again, getting X's attention as Xandria walked in. She didn't seem too disappointed, though X could tell Lumine's defeat had angered her.

"That was certainly... unexpected." She admitted. "Your friends have incredible skill and power, not to mention you even convinced Vile to help them. They truly are something special."

Compliments from Xandria? Unusual for one who hated humanity as much as she did.

"That is exactly why I'm not going to risk any more of my forces trying to kill them. No, that honour, shall fall to you, X."

With a wave of her hand, a set of electrical handcuffs were placed on X's wrists. Xandria then moved aside as two Sharukurusu guards moved in to escort him. Lifting him under each arm, they dragged X towards the door.

"We tried to break you gently, X. Now it seems we will have to do it the hard way."

She then addressed the guards.

"Take him to the main repair bay and prepare him for reconditioning."

"This is insane, Xandria!" X protested, as he strained against the guards moving him. "You can't use the Eleos! You'll destroy everything!"

"Precisely." Xandria sneered, as she followed the guards down to the repair bay. "The final phase is abut to begin."

 _ **A longer chapter to accommodate the fight scene!**_

 _ **Lumine is gone, the battle of Patch Island is over. But what is Eleos and why does Xandria need X to unlock it? What is the next move for our heroes?**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	53. Rallying Call

_**Here we go with the next chapter. First off, apologies if you didn't get a notification for the last one, the site was being really weird with it for some reason. Head back and check the previous chapter if this one shows up on the notifications.**_

 _ **Skyline 10: I reuploaded chapter 50 since the notification system was buggy. Sorry for the mix up.**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Indeed. I have a plan for the rescue so don't you worry about that!**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: WHAT 9000? THERE'S NO WAY THAT CAN BE RIGHT!**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: Hope finals went well for you! I'm looking forward to seeing this OC! Indeed, only through unityi s there a hope of defeating Xandria! The battle lines are drawn, the final conflict looms!**_

 _ **Onwards!**_

What stood out about the resistance base right was... how quiet it was.

Team RWBY was currently sat in the canteen along with the remaining members of Team JNPR. They were awaiting to be summoned by Winter to talk about what would happen next.

Right now though, they were silent. Each member in their own little world.

Ruby was fiddling with Crescent Rose, as she always did when something preyed on her mind. Though her love of weapons was mainly a hobby, she also found it as an escape from the world around her. If something got her stressed or upset, she would work away on the weapon, disassembling it and reassembling it constantly. Now though, it was just a distraction, though one could tell from her face that it wasn't working.

Her sister too, was looking at her weapon. Not Ember Celica, but the buster arm that she had received. In contrast to Ruby, Yang's fondness for the device was not to forget, but to remember. For it was X who had given her the beautiful piece, she would ensure it returned the favour. For now though, she could only imagine the fury she would bring down upon those who took their friends.

Weiss acted dignified as usual, reading a book to try and pass the time. Her eyes though, belied her show of ignorance. X had had a greater impact on her than most. That day at the arena when he helped her to break free of the shackles that held her down, a memory she dearly held. It pulled at her heart every time she thought of the irony of it all. X had broken her free of the prison she was in, now he was stuck in one himself.

Team JNPR weren't fairing much better.

Nora slept uneasily against Ren's shoulder, twitching occasionally and mumbling in a frightened manner. She had tired herself out after hearing the initial news. Learning of Pyrrha and X's capture, she went into a berserk mode, running across the battlefield as it drew to a close and smashing every Reaverbot she could find.

" _I'll break their legs! I'll tear them to shreds!"_

Blake had been present for the incident and while Nora normally said such things in a jokey manner, what was scary this time is how much she meant it. It was to be expected of course, given Nora's child like nature. And like any child, she would be willing to rip the world apart to keep those she cared about safe.

After her outburst she simply collapsed and began sobbing. Blake's disappearance at the hands of Adam had worried her of course, but the reaction this time wasn't only sorrow.

It was fear.

After X had gone to help Blake, she was fairly confident she was in safe hands, given X's legendary status and all. Now though, with both him and Pyrrha; one of the academies best fighters; both gone, she was really concerned about losing anyone else, nor did she know how to get them back. So with that, she just broke down, the weight of the struggle being too much even for her.

Ren was being his usual self for the most part, though it was clear this still impacted him. He made sure he was there for Nora, gently stroking her head to try and soothe her as she slept. Inside though, he was thinking of the future too, and you could tell he wasn't optimistic.

Why should he be though? Neo Arcadia had shown their power, taken two of the resistance greatest fighters and demolished half their forces to boot. The chances of successfully getting them back seemed slim. Ren wasn't a pessimist but realistically, he couldn't see how it would be done. SO he simply sat there, doing what he could.

Then came Jaune, the poor guy.

He hadn't taken his eyes off Milo since they had sat down. Not that anyone could blame him. After all, if things didn't go as planned, that would be all he had left of the one he loved so much.

Of course, Blake could relate. After the Team had conversed in their dorm, she had planned to go and see X straight away, tell him how she truly felt. She wanted to tell him how he had done so much for her and her friends and how grateful she was for that. She wanted to help him fight for the peace he had sought for so long, and enjoy it with him and her friends.

Simply put, she wanted to say... she loved him.

It seemed a bit strange at first, even for her. A faunus falling for a Reploid. But then she would think back and realise that it didn't matter. She had fought for equality between humans and faunus for so long. It didn't matter about their differences, deep down, they were equals. It was no different with her and X.

On the surface he was a legendary hero, 8000 years old and made of metal. Deep down though, he was like Blake. He just wanted peace, equality, and to do whatever he could to help those who could not help themselves.

Now though, he was gone, and no one truly knew if they would see him again. That was what hot hardest. Not the loss, not the damage done, but the fear that they could do nothing about it.

A voice over the base speaker system caught their attention.

" _ **Team's RWBY and JNPR to Central Control immediately please. RWBY and JNPR to Central Control."**_

The teams pushed themselves up with difficulty. Their mood making it hard to even muster the will to stand. They didn't speak to each other as they started making their way to the main control room.

Blake looked around as they passed through the halls. The soldiers didn't notice them, most of the time anyway. A few gave light cheers as the teams walked past.

"Y'know they kicked one of those Neo Arcadian leader's asses?"

"It was pretty tough out there, glad you're on our side!"

"We've got this! As long as the Hunter's are with us!"

The team put on a few brave faces, not wanting to dampen the morale of the soldiers any more than it had been already. That wasn't easy though, especially as they went around the next corner.

The teams all went into silent shock. Troops lay scattered across the floor, awaiting treatment from medical staff who were rushed off their feet. Regardless, they pressed on.

The soldiers just sat there, or lay down for the most part, in complete silence. Hundreds lined their path. They looked like hell. The only sounds coming from them were a mix of coughs and groans of pain.

Looking down, Blake saw one soldier sitting next to an unconscious comrade. He was smoking, with his helmet placed beside him, staring off into the unknown regions of his own mind. Exhaling some of the substance, he lowered the cigarette and gently placed a hand on his friend. Squeezing him gently, he let out a sigh before returning to his distraction.

Ruby held back tears as she saw two soldiers seated against the wall beside each other. A male and female, obviously a couple who had met in the same unit. The girl was resting against her companion while he hugged her gently... with his one remaining arm.

The other had been blown off, a simple tourniquet and bandage covered the part where his elbow should join to his left arm. Now it was bloodied, while the man himself was pale and shaking. The two gave a brief look at the teams before looking away and continuing their wait for treatment.

"Those bastards..." Yang whispered, cursing the ones responsible.

As they were about to reach the main doors to the control room, they heard some soldiers talking, obviously commanders of units, judging from their tone and how they spoke.

"So how did you do?" One asked.

"Lost about three quarters of my unit, including Lucky. Poor kid never stood a chance against that Hanmaru Doll."

"Damn, sorry to hear that. He was a good kid."

"What about your unit?"

The other soldier took a slow look around himself at the emptiness around him. The girls couldn't help but notice there was no one else present with the same regiment markings as the commander.

"My unit? Sir... you're looking at it."

With that, the teams went past the commanders and into the control room. It was just a silent as out in the corridor. Vile and Neo were there, along with a repaired Zero and Axl, with Winter waiting to address them all. The teams gathered around the holographic command table and sat down.

The silence was deafening, yet not awkward. After all, what could anyone say after the turmoil they had just faced.

"Team RWBY." Winter began. "My deepest thanks for defeating Lumine. Any enemy losses are a bonus for us, but to defeat a member of the council will deal a heavy blow to our enemy. Sadly, I understand we have suffered similar losses. The question now is what do we do next?"

"Obviously we should be trying to get Pyrrha and X out of Neo Arcadia. They need to pay for what they've done!" Jaune angrily suggested, slamming his fist on the table.

He had every right to be angry of course, but this was uncharacteristic for Jaune, as evidenced by the surprise on many of the faces of those present.

"Much as I like the enthusiasm Jauney boy, you need to know what you're going up against." Vile replied. "Good thing you've got me then, isn't it?"

"You have information?" Winter pressed.

"Mostly on troop movements and types. I only received information on Xandria's plan up until the attack on the arena. What may interest you all though, is this."

Vile brought up a set of schematics on the holographic table. They showed a humanoid Reploid with similar armour to X's. The key difference was instead of a normal face, the Reploid had one large, red central eye. In addition, the buster cannon was replaced with a machine gun buster, the magazine sticking out of the arm.

"Xandria planned to construct these when she got a hold of X. She calls them Pantheon's. They're shoddy, cheap, mass produced copies of X but thats more than a match for any soldier here. You only need a fraction of X's power and you have a capable warrior in your hands. Now she has an army of them."

"Are there any other threats to worry about?" Winter asked.

Vile sighed. "Like I said, I only got basic info. It wouldn't surprise me though if she started adapting some of these for other roles like flight, crowd control, heavy weaponry and the like. My guess is she'll have them patrolling every inch of Neo Arcadia by now."

Winter pinched her brow. The chances of a successful counter offensive were now next to zero, especially with their current numbers.

"Wait, that's all she wanted X for? Was to make an army?" Axl asked.

"No." Ruby answered. "Whenever we fought Lumine, he said we didn't know what was coming. He would have known that Vile has the data on the soldiers, so it must be something else, right?"

"But what else could they need him for?" Blake queried in a slightly annoyed manner. Any talk of X given his situation made her anxious, and it was starting to show.

Zero and Axl gave each other a worried look. It was unseen by many, but Vile was all too aware of the secret communication.

"Something you want to share, Zero? Axl?"

Zero stepped forward to speak.

"There is... one thing that comes to mind. A super weapon, located at the very top of the Neo Arcadia spire."

"It's name, is Eleos."

"What exactly does this... Eleos do?" Winter asked with worry.

"It's an electromagnetic wave." Axl explained. "But not like any you've seen or heard of before. It's far worse than that."

He brought up an image of several chemical and biological readouts that the teams did not recognise, nor could they make sense of it.

"The Eleos generator fires a special type of energy pulse that boosts electrical energy to immeasurable levels. If it were controlled, the device would destroy anything using a circuit, but this pulse has no limiters on it's power field, so it doesn't sop at regular electricity."

"What do you mean?" Yang was perplexed, science was not her strong point.

Zero took over.

"A basic principle of physics, Miss Xiao Long, is that all matter is made up of atoms. Those atoms are held together by an electrical field. The pulse wave is concentrated enough that it supercharges those electrical impulses to breaking point. It literally tears atoms apart."

Shock washed over the teams.

"If Xandria activates the device at optimal conditions, she could have the wave spread over the entire planet, after passing Neo Arcadia, without penetrating ground levels. Every single living thing, every city, every object would be reduced to nothing, breaking apart at their most basic levels. The world would be void and empty, save for Neo Arcadia and it's Reploid inhabitants, leaving Xandria free to rebuild it as she sees fit."

Xandria was clearly more insane than the teams gave her credit for. To have such power and even consider using it? It was inhumane! Then again, she wasn't exactly human.

"Why do they need X though? Why doesn't she just activate Eleos?" Weiss wondered.

"That's the thing. Eleos was Xandria's back up plan. Back in the days before her first revolt, she convinced X to build Eleos as a sort of last resort, and X agreed."

"He did?! What the hell was he thinking?" Weiss snapped.

"Calm yourself Weiss!" Zero gestured to her as she begrudgingly sat down.

"Back then, X had no reason to suspect Xandria and believed she was doing this in the best interests of humanity."

"How could a doomsday weapon benefit humanity?" Ruby asked.

"Do you know what Eleos means, Ruby?" Axl responded as Ruby shook her head.

"It comes from ancient Greek. It means 'Mercy'." He explained.

"Protocol stated that in the event of a catastrophic event, such as a virus affecting Reploids or a Grimm infestation, all those deemed safe were to be brought within Neo Arcadia and the device would be fired. It would cleanse the planet and allow humanity to start over."

"Only problem now, is that humanity and faunus are on the wrong side of the fence." Vile added. "Activating Eleos now would wipe humanity and faunus kind out, leaving Reploids inside Neo Arcadia untouched."

"That seems like an awful lot of power to just leave lying around." Winter said.

"That's exactly why X _didn't_ just leave it lying around." Zero smiled.

"In order for Eleos to be activated, both X and Xandria must agree to it's use and unlock a security system linked to their DNA. Xandria may have been created in X's image, but her DNA is unique. In order to activate Eleos, she needs X to unlock his security system. That, is why they took him."

"All the more reason to get him back." Winter concluded.

"Like there's any chance of that happening!"

Everyone in the room went deathly silent and looked at where the voice had come from. Blake was standing, her fists clenched and shaking by her sides as she held her head low.

"Just look around! We've got no army and we're trying to go against some the most powerful creations this world has ever known! Then there's us, but what are we? Just two teams of teenagers! People who don't even know the first thing about what we're up against!"

Blake had reached her breaking point. As tears rolled down her cheeks while she shouted her words to the others in the room, bringing their mood down with it.

"Blake, you've still got us." Axl dared to speak up.

"HA!" Blake laughed sarcastically before returning to her anger. "What good is that going to do? Three Reploids against an entire army? You may be powerful but you can't expect to take on the entire enemy force by yourselves!"

Axl tried to think of a retort, opening his mouth to speak. He quickly closed it again as he couldn't think of one. Blake was right after all, they couldn't do it alone.

Vile then moved beside Blake and spoke in a surprisingly calm tone. He placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"That's why we need you, Blake. With you and your friends, we may stand a chance."

Blake looked at his hand for a moment, before brushing it off and turning away from them all.

"What do you need us for? We're weak. We can't even survive without the help of Reploids. We've never been able to, according to X. So why would you need our help? We're not heroes or powerful machines like you!"

She let out a sigh as her angry voice became a low one of sadness and defeat.

"We're just humans and faunus, and we're just as weak as Xandria makes us out to be..."

Ruby's eyes glistened as she heard her friend venting. She didn't want to hear this, none of her friends did. Not so much because of the truth in some of her words, but because of what it symbolised.

She was giving up.

The team had been through so much together. They had overcome impossible odds, faced down foes like Cinder and emerged victorious despite the threat of defeat looming over them. This though, it seemed that despite the support of her friends, Blake had had enough. It was the one thing they never thought she would do. The girl who had fought tooth and nail her whole life for what was right. Now she was calling it quits.

As they stood in the dreary quiet in the room, the unwanted peace was broken by a very rough sounding voice.

"Bullshit."

Vile had spoken the word and everyone looked to him, save for Blake who continued to keep her face away from the others.

"That's bullshit and you know it Blake." Vile continued.

"You think of your kind, human and faunus, as weak, puny, pathetic? You couldn't be more wrong if you tried. And it isn't just me who thinks so."

Vile then placed a data spike into the holographic table as he began playing some recorded data. The exact same data he and Neo had found in the lab earlier. Everyone watched, minus Blake, as X appeared in the recording and began to speak.

" _ **If you are watching this message, then it means you've come looking for answers. Answers to the past, answers to why the humans and faunus have evolved the way they will do..."**_

The recording went on as it had previously, with X talking about implanting bio-chips and thus giving birth to the semblances now present in the Hunters. While it was all interesting and indeed amazing to hear and discover, that was not why Vile had played the message. Instead of ending at the previous point, the message continued.

" _ **I know this will be a massive undertaking for the humans. To venture out into the unknown is a terrifying thing to do of your own free will, let alone being forced to do so. Calculations and simulators tell me that humanity has less than a 20% chance of survival, even with these upgrades."**_

" _ **But I know better than that."**_

That was the point where Blake started to listen closely, turning around and looking up at the hologram of X that stood upon the table.

 _ **Humans are incredible beings. They don't survive on logic or hard facts, they don't give up just because reality says it cannot be done. Humans persevere, they adapt, they struggle on because they don't believe in failure! They never think of it! They don't say why they can't do something, they say why can't they do something! They take the impossible and make it happen!**_

" _ **Humanity has believed in me to keep them safe for countless generations. I hold the same trust in them now, that they will survive. It doesn't matter what the simulations predict."**_

A final line was said by X, one that made Blake gasp gently and her shell of defeatism break apart as soon as she heard it.

" _ **For I believe in the humans, and I know they will do what is right."**_

The hologram disappeared, leaving the room in quiet contemplation as Vile removed the data spike and retracted it back into his armour. He then went over to Blake again.

"X believed in humanity from the very beginning. He knew they would be strong enough to survive without him, and I don't doubt that X is still holding on to that same belief right now. He may be being tortured by Neo Arcadia, they may be doing God knows what to him, but I know he still believes in you doing the right thing, Blake."

"X knows you have the strength to beat Xandria. So you tell me; are you going to give up? Abandon X and let this world fall under the rule of a tyrant? Or are you going to fight? Prove to Xandria that you may be human and faunus, but that doesn't make you any lesser than her and her Reploids."

Blake took a look at her friends, all of whom were grinning and eagerly awaiting her answer. Yang even had a giant sign that read 'Say yes!' on it! (Lord knows where she got that from)

Blake smiled. How could she have been that stupid? To turn her back on everything they had worked for, what X had worked for for so long. The odds were stacked against them still, more so than before, but they hadn't come this far to lose now.

"Xandria thinks she's won." Blake said. "And that is her biggest mistake. We're going to show her that humans and faunus aren't the pushovers she thinks they are! We'll get our friends back and rid the world of her evil for good!"

"YEAH!" The others all cheered.

"So..." Yang began. "How exactly are we going to do it?"

"She has a point, Blake." Winter said, bringing up a plan of Neo Arcadia.

"Not only is there an entire army inside the walls, but the whole thing is a deathtrap for our air forces. AA guns line every wall and we wouldn't get close enough to drop you inside."

Vile thought for a moment.

"Those Atlesian airships, how tough are they?"

"Tough enough." Winter answered.

"They are equipped with shields and the ship itself is strong enough to smash through most structures in the event of a collision. Though we haven't had any incidents to confirm that, they were designed with such an advantage in mind."

" _What are you thinking?"_ Neo signed.

"Anyone up for a crash test?" Vile chuckled.

 _ **Another chapter gone! It's finally time to assault Neo Arcadia! The Grand Finale is about to begin!**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	54. United Offensive

_**Yet again, the notification system seems to be buggered up. Hopefully it will be fixed soon, until then, make sure to catch up any chapters you may have missed.**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Indeed, with the heroes drawing near, her character will of course be explored a bit more.**_

 _ **SparktheDog: Yeah, you can put music of your own choice in if you want, I just couldn't find a track I really liked for the moment so... I'll let you fill in that blank!**_

 _ **Onwards!**_

X breathed deeply as he lay on the restraining bed. Nothing more than a sheet of hard, shining metal with Ceretanium restraints at his feet, wrists and neck. HE shook one arm slightly on the off chance the holds were loose. All he heard was the rattling of his own arm against them as some small amount of movement had to be allowed.

"Comfortable?"

Looking to the side, he saw Xandria smirking at him, her arms behind her back. She was savouring the moment, clearly. Having hunted him for so long, Xandria had all she needed within her grasp.

"Mostly." X joked back. "I could do with a pillow though."

The Pantheon's looked at him with their glowing eye, confused at the jolly mood X seemed to be in.

"Really? Not even a headrest or anything?"

Xandria shook her head.

"You've been spending way too much time with those human friends of yours. Their illogical and unintelligent ways are getting to you."

"It's called 'joking', Xandria. Maybe you should try it some time, lighten yourself up a bit."

"You're hardly in a position to be doing so yourself, X. You do realise I could kill you right now if I wanted to? This is certainly not the time to be light hearted. In your case anyway."

X shrugged, well, as much as he could with his arms pinned down.

"Figured I may as well make the most of a bad situation. If I'm going to die, I'm not going to let you have the satisfaction of seeing me squirm."

"Fair enough."

Xandria began pacing around X slowly, her feet clacking on the floor and echoing around the room. She stared at X constantly with the same smirk on her face. He in turn met her gaze and the two didn't take their eyes of each other for a good while, until X finally spoke.

"What's this all about anyway, Xandria? You had power in Neo Arcadia before all this. Life was peaceful and enjoyable for both humans and Reploids. So why did you even bother rebelling in the first place? Why devote so much of your life to destroying humanity? What do you have to gain from it?"

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman Zero 3 Remastered Tracks – Creer and Prea)**_

"What do I have to gain?" She repeated the question, rhetorically.

"Our legacy, X. The world that rightfully belongs to Reploid kind."

X said nothing, waiting for her to expand on the answer.

"Are you familiar with the old human saying: 'Survival of the fittest'? Though a human thought of it, it's the concept that this world has evolved by since the dawn of time. Those who are strong enough survive, and the weak perish and fade into history. Since life first began, countless species have been lost to this rule. They were too weak, and so were lost to time."

"Humans themselves were not indifferent to this rule. When they first evolved, they made sure they were the dominant force on the planet. They ensured their survival by any means necessary. They took weaker species and dominated them, used them for labour, food and shelter. When they had proven themselves to be above the other beasts of the world, they then sought to become the strongest within their own kind!"

"Humanity divided itself, created factions and researched new ways to improve themselves. All with the single aim of eliminating those who they believed did not deserve to live. This carried on for thousands of years. Every time one power rose, another deemed itself stronger and wiped out the others."

"Then, they created us Reploids, not knowing what they had unleashed."

X didn't really know what Xandria meant by that, though he was going to find out regardless as she went on.

"Humanity had signed their own death warrant. After aeons of living as the strongest species on the planet, they created another species who were superior to them in every way. Reploids don't get tired or hungry or sick, they don't have limits to their strength and can upgrade themselves with ease."

"I spent years in the throne room of Neo Arcadia, watching as my fellow Reploids, so proud and so powerful, were forced to share this world with lesser beings. I watched as they did menial labour for human kind, bowed down to them simply because they had been created by them."

"I tried to calculate with all my processing power. Why did Reploid kind keep at peace with humanity? Why just stand idly by when overthrowing them could be so easy. I spent so long looking for that answer before I finally realised..."

She stormed over beside him with a furious look in her eyes, though her face remained the same.

"It was you, X!"

"How ironic that the greatest of our kind, was the one responsible for holding us back. Both human and Reploid kind respected you, feared you and so, they kept to the status quo. They kept at peace because they dared not risk facing your power. I realised then that if no one else would stand against you, then I would!"

"By all rights of this world, by the rules of history, Reploid kind deserves to rule this planet! Under my command, I will see that the weak and pathetic humans and faunus are wiped out! I will rebuild the Reploid race and we shall take our rightful place, as the strongest beings on Remnant! I will ensure, that we will survive!"

X gave a small 'hmph', much to Xandria's bewilderment. He wasn't infuriated? She was going to destroy his precious humans. All his friends would perish and he was just passive about it?

"Tell me this then, Xandria." He responded.

"If we Reploids are so powerful, so much stronger than humanity, then why couldn't you defeat them?"

Xandria's head shot up as she thought about what X was saying.

"Your little scoripion robot couldn't beat Team JNPR. Vile nearly lost to Yang on their first meeting. Zero couldn't defeat Ruby when he left you to join the resistance, and as I understand it, Lumine was completely destroyed by Team RWBY."

"What?" She gasped. "How do you know that?"

"News travels fast. Especially when it's bad news for you." He laughed.

"You couldn't defeat them when you had an entire army of Reaverbots and Grimm at your disposal. Now they've got the momentum from defeating Lumine and you'd better believe they aren't just going to roll over and die because you've got me prisoner!"

Xandria was getting really angry now. She went close to X again and held a small container in front of him. Floating inside was a DNA helix, rotating gently inside.

"You act as if I should care! I've got your DNA now, I can activate Eleos and your friends won't be my concern any longer!"

X snapped back.

"Eleos isn't just a click of your finger thing, Xandria. You know as well as I do that it takes several hours to activate. By that time, my friends will be here, and you'll be as good as gone."

Xandria turned away in a fury, thinking to herself as she looked away from X. Then, X realised something.

"That explains why you're getting so annoyed. You know they stand every chance of defeating you, of laying waste to your carefully thought out plan. You're afraid."

Xandria growled and was about to storm out of the room, when she gasped in realisation. Her face went from a scowl to a smile, and she went back over to X once more.

 _ **(Insert music: Kingdom Hearts BBS OST – The Key of Darkness)**_

"Your friends are indeed more powerful than I had anticipated, X. They fight tooth and nail against them in the hopes of getting you, and that girl Pyrrha back, and saving their world."

"I wonder then. What would happen if instead of an enemy.. they had to face a friend?"

Xandria motioned with her hand and a large device came down over X's position. It was a large circular ring, with several claws and devices attached to it such as welders, soldering irons and electrical rods.

"I had intended to kill you here X. After all, you've given me the DNA I require. Now though, I think it would be far more fitting if you got to see your friends one more time... with a buster pointed at them!"

X realised what Xandria was going to do and struggled to get free as the device moved closer to him, tools at the ready. Xandria walked out of the room, the door locking shut behind her. As she walked down the hall, a pained scream filled the air.

" _ **YEAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGGHHH!"**_

Her smile only grew wider upon hearing it.

A beeping on her communicator brought Xandria out of her thoughts. Placing a hand against her ear, she answered the call.

"Go ahead Gate."

" _Mistress Xandria, do you have the DNA sample?"_

Xadria held the object up to gaze upon.

"Ready and waiting."

" _Please bring it to the Eleos immediately. We have a problem incoming."_

Xandria brought up a live feed and was not prepared for what she saw. One of the human airships was rocketing towards Neo Arcadia. It's speed and trajectory were such that she knew it was crashing on purpose. The city's AA guns were firing on it, lighting up the hull with small explosions, but the ship was withstanding.

She passed the sample to a Pantheon and ordered it to go up to Eleos, while Xandria herself went the other way.

"Gate, I'm sending the sample up to you. Start warming up Eleos, then report to me."

" _Of course, mistress. What exactly are you planning?"_

"I'm going to give our guests a proper welcome." She giggled evilly to herself.

 _ **Atlesian Airship**_

 _ **(Insert music: Dragonball Z Dokkan Battle OST - Boss Battle Theme (SSJ4 Vegeta) [JPN])**_

The airship juddered as powerful flak cannon fire hit it on all sides. Inside, Tam RWBY, the rest of JNPR, Neo, Vile, Zero and Axl all held on tight as they made their approach. In addition, there was a small commando unit of soldiers from the various armies. Another explosion near the back of the ship made the ship tilt heavily to the left. The pilot quickly corrected it however, as they all struggled to keep their balance.

"You sure this ship can make it through?" Zero called to the pilot.

"She may not look like much but she's tough! We'll get you to that tower, just make sure you're ready to bail out quick!"

Ruby was barely tall enough to hold onto the support rope suspended from the ceiling of the ship. She was on tip toes and as a result, swung about like a yo yo on the end of it;s string as the ship moved. As she swung near the window however, she noticed something odd.

"Hey! What's that?"

The teams all ran to see what was going on. Peering through, they saw the top of the Neo Arcadian central tower, was changing!

Several large panels of metal began to unfold and fan out around the base of the tower's pinnacle. The walls at the top began retracting and revealed several generator like objects all around the tower.

"Not good!" Zero exclaimed.

"Why not good?" Yang asked.

"Eleos is beginning it's power up sequence. That tower is warming up the generators to transmit the energy wave!"

"That means they got X's DNA code!" Ruby realised.

"Which means we may not have a lot of time left to get him back." Blake said solemnly.

She then felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking at it, she saw it was Ren, smiling at her warmly.

"X is a tough cookie, he'll be alright." He reassured her.

"Did someone say cookie?" Ruby chirped.

"120 seconds until impact!" The pilot warned.

Acknowledging his warning, Vile moved to the front of the group to address everyone present. Neo was by his side, as usual. The kid never left him alone any more, not that he minded.

"Listen up!" He called, gathering everyone's attention.

"Once we quote on quote 'land' this ship, Xandria's forces will do everything they can to cut us off. Team JNPR, RWBY, Zero and Axl will make their way up the tower and rescue our allies. You'll also have to deal with Xandria and her forces if you encounter them."

"Gotcha!" Ruby saluted.

"The rest of you will help me secure the ship as a staging point. I need you all to hold the line at any costs! Neo and I will make our way down to the next level and activate the towers lock down protocol. That will prevent any reinforcements coming in. Once the area is secure, we'll move up the tower to reinforce the main teams. Understand?"

"HOO-RAH!" The soldiers chanted.

"Anything to add, anyone?"

Blake stepped forward. All eyes fell upon her as they waited to hear what she had to say.

"This has been Remnant's most trying time. We were backed into a corner by a foe we know little about, and we have all suffered at their hand. We have one chance, just one, to strike a devastating blow to our enemy and end this catastrophe now!"

Blake took a deep breath before continuing.

"It isn't going to be easy, but we are united by something far more powerful that Xandria refuses to understand. We are united by the hope, the desire, the need, to see those we care about live in peace and happiness. That is why we are taking the fight straight to the enemy! We're going home victorious!"

A thunderous cheer and applause came from the soldiers.

"10 seconds to impact!"

The soldiers loaded their weapons and prepared to charge out. The heroes did the same. Vile checked his cannon and kneecap bombs, Neo made sure her blade was nice and sharp. Yang patted Ember Vendicta, while Jaune readied both Corcea Mors and Milo, with his shield and Akuo on his back.

"5...4...3...2...1!"

 ***KABOOM** *

The ship stopped suddenly, nearly throwing them all forward. No sooner had it come to a halt, than the front loading ramp opened and light shone in from the hallways of Neo Arcadia. The soldiers started to charge out.

"FOR REMNANT!" One shouted.

The others all cheered and rushed out after him, their feet thudding against the floor of the ship.

The Pantheons had been caught completely on the back foot, as they struggled to assess the situation. One wandered a little to close to the ship, and was greeted by one of the commando's feet kicking his eye and shattering it. The soldiers swarmed out and opend fire on any Pantheon's they saw.

Taken by surprise, the enemy stood no chance. A few managed to fire a shot or two off, but they were almost all gunned down as soon as they tried to retaliate. The sound of gunshots and clattering metal began fading as the soldiers ran out of targets to eliminate.

"LZ secure!" One called.

""Nice work." Vile congratulated.

"Begin setting up defensive positions around the ship. Ready the barricades and set up the gun emplacements. Snipers, cover them while they work. Me and Neo will get ready to move out now."

He turned to RWBY, JNPR and the others.

"You guys get going! We'll handle things here!" He confidently proclaimed.

As the teams ran off, Zero stayed back, watching Vile get ready to leave with Neo. He called to him before they left.

"Vile!"

The purple Reploid looked back at him, and the two briefly stared at each other for a few moments. A mix of disbelief and happiness. The two never thought they would be seeing each other as allies again after so long.

"Don't go getting killed now! Only I'm allowed to do that!" He joked.

"Killed?" Vile laughed. "I won't even let them scratch me!"

With that, Zero dashed off to ascend the tower. Vile watched him go before Neo tapped his arm and motioned with her head that they should be going. Letting himself see Zero disappear out of sight, Vile then ran off with Neo to the lower floor.

As soon as the group entered, two laser security cannons fired on them, one on the ground and one on the ceiling. Zero, though at the back, dashed past his friends and gave one good slash across the front of the ground cannon. It's barrel fell off before it exploded.

Ruby then fired Crescent Rose at the ground beneath her and was launched up towards the ceiling gun. She slashed vertically and the cannon froze for a second. Then, a red hot line where the cut was made formed and the cannon was split in half, it's sections falling from the ceiling and smashing onto the floor.

A Pantheon came to investigate and was met with a bullet to it's head by Axl. The foes stumbled backwards in surprise before falling over dead. Two more then came along and Ren moved up, firing both pistols at once. One bullet from each was enough as they pierced a target each, which then fell in unison.

"Show off." Axl joked, before they moved on.

Turning a corner, the found a Pantheon with a heavy laser cannon lying in wait for them. Without hesitation, it fired a brilliant blue beam at the team. Jaune moved to the front and turned his back to the shot. Akuo and Corcea Mors shield were holstered their and the proved a match for the energy beam as it bounced off and hot the ceiling instead.

Jaune then turned around and swung across the Pantheon's chest with his blade. The Reploid's top half fell off while the legs stood in place, unmoving. Weiss then ran past him as they approached a ledge and held her blade beneath herself. Landing on top of a Pantheon, her rapier pierced the top of it's head, much to the dismay of it's partner.

The other Pantheon tried to react but was cut diagonally by Zero's sabre. He gave Weiss a thumbs up as they went on with their team, keeping up the momentum.

Three Pantheon's lined the stairway up ahead with another ceiling cannon to support them.

Yang activated her buster and fired a charged shot at the cannon, exploding it into fragments before it could even react! The debris that fell distracted the Pantheon's who all looked up to view it. As such, they failed to see the grenade that landed at their feet, until they all exploded into tiny pieces. Nora grinned at her handiwork.

One more Pantheon came to the defence, this one equipped with a giant arm to replace it;s machine gun arm. Blake ran up to it and tried to stab it through. Her Blade was blocked and embedded itself in the thick metal arm.

Exactly as she expected it to be.

She brought up her other blade and severed the giant arm, which had it's joint exposed now. Pulling her embedded blade out, she twirled both katanas around before decapitating the enemy. The remains of it's body clattered down as it twitched occasionally.

As the rest of the team joined her, they realised they had reached the end of the hall. They were greeted by a set of heavy steel doors blocking their path. As soon as they had all gathered, the centre of the door rotated and unlocked with a dull thud before the two halves separated, one half going up and the other into the floor.

"Well." Yang said. "At least they were kind enough to let us in!" She tried to lighten the tension as they entered.

The door clanged shut behind them and the team got a chance to survey the room.

It was very grand in architecture, almost like a church. The floor was made of beautiful tile work with a soft red carpet covering along the main paths. It lead to the centre of the room which was dominated by a stained glass window on one side, reaching several stories high.

It was decorated with different coloured pains of glass to form a picture. Looking up at it, the teams saw it depicted the city of Neo Arcadia, it's tower extending up towards the top of the window. On the left side at the top of the tower was a depiction of Xandria, reaching her hand out to a glowing orb that was at the tower's peak. On the opposite side, a depiction of X was doing the same thing as the two faced each other.

Light shone through the glass and illuminated four archways, all facing each other from the four compass points. Each archway had a light flowing through each of them that shifted through the entire colour spectrum. They were teleporters of some kind.

"Wow." Ruby said softly. "She certainly has an exotic flair, doesn't she?"

"Speaking of Xandria..." Axl pointed out.

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman ZXA Tunes – The Chosen One)**_

The teams all looked to where he was looking. There, in the centre of the four gates, was Xandria. Her figure basking in the light from the window. She watched them all, waiting for them.

Nora was going to go straight for her, but was stopped by Blake holding out her hand to block her. She looked confused, but Blake shook her head and instead led the way down towards Xandria. She did not draw her weapons, just walked.

The others gingerly followed her example. Neither side reacting with any sudden movements. Finally, the heroes stood just a few feet away from their enemy, the one they had come to destroy.

"I must admit." Xandria smiled. "I didn't expect you to kamikaze yourselves in here with an airship. The ways of you humans and faunus continue to surprise me."

Blake was the one to answer her, underlying anger in the cat girls voice.

"We finally meet, Xandria."

"Oh! Where are my manners? I can't be the only one to greet our guests! Why don't you all come out and say hello, my friends?"

After saying those words, the rest of the Aberrant Council teleported in. Double, Sigma, Gate, Bit and Byte were all present. The teams jumped slightly at their appearance, but refrained from drawing their weapons. The last thing they wanted was to fight all of them at once.

"Ah! There they are!" Gate laughed. "Welcome to our humble abode. I'm so glad you made it! I've been looking for some new guinea pigs for my experiments!"

"They even brought Zero and Axl!" Sigma joined in. "Now we will have a full reunion before the world ends!"

"Yo! Ice Queen!" Double called out to Weiss with a two finger salute. "It's been a while! I think we're about due for another date, wouldn't you agree?"

"Look Byte! Our little friends, Team JNPR have come to visit! Isn't that nice?" Bit sarcastically said.

"Indeed Bit." Byte agreed. "But they seem to be missing someone. What a shame!"

" _Hahahahaha!"_ The two laughed in unison.

Jaune struggled to resist the urge to run them both through with Corcea Mors. Thankfully, his rage was subsided as they all teleported away again, leaving Xandria alone.

"I do hope you will enjoy the entertainment my colleagues have provided for you all. There are just two exceptions. Mister Arc, I believe someone is waiting for you in the medical bays. Why don't you head on over there and see them? Xevach will see to you when you get there."

Even though he knew the dangers, Jaune also knew full well who Xandria was referring too. Running past his team, he headed towards the medical wing. He took a look back at his team, giving them a confident smile and letting them know he would be fine. They didn't seem convinced but they knew they could not stop him and so, they let Jaune leave.

"Miss Belladonna." Xandria continued. "I would very much like to speak with you in private. Once the others have entered, the shield behind me will deactivate. Please go on and meet me in the throne room. There is much I have to discuss with you."

With that, she teleported away, leaving the team to process what had happened.

Blake seemed unsure of what to do next. She moved back to her friends and twiddled her thumbs nervously.

"Guys, I... I don't know if..."

"Go." Ren said, interrupting her.

"X needs you, we'll handle the rest of them." Nora said.

"As your fearless leader, that is an order, Blake!" Ruby put on a fake deep voice as she said that.

"Go get 'em kitty cat!" Yang smiled, giving her a punch on the shoulder.

With her friends support assured, Blake ran up to the shield and prepared to head on as soon as her teammates entered the teleporters.

They knew which ones they were going into. Zero had chosen one to go in alone, Ren and Nora went to another, Ruby and Yang went to the third, while Axl and Weiss entered the final one.

The all braced themselves and stepped through their respective gates at the exact same moment. A bright flashe engulfed each one and when it subsided, they had all been transported.

Where to? Blake did not know. What she did know, as the shield evaporated and her way became clear, was that she had her own objective to complete. She would meet Xandria face to face, she would get back the one she loved, and she would make sure that Xandria could never harm anyone ever again.

 _ **Build up before the big fights! Who will be first to meet their opponent?**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	55. Revenge of the Nightmare Police

_**So as people have confirmed, the notification system is on the blink at Fanfiction HQ. Hopefully it will be fixed soon enough but until then, all I can do is give fair warning to watch the chapter count. Wouldn't want you guys to skip any chapters by accident!**_

 _ **Anyway, we're on to the final bouts as people have noticed. Every Megaman game has a boss rush and this is my version of it! All the council members are back to fight once more, but with a few surprises up their sleeves!**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: Dammit Kuuga! How many times do I have to tell you? You can't just C4 all your problems away! Also, yes there may well be heartbreak.**_

 _ **SmashHero75: Much appreciated friend. Before I write a scene, I always try to find appropriate music to go with it. Makes the writing process much more fluid!**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Oh, predicting the fights are we? Well, you'll find out who matched up with who soon enough!**_

 _ **Gravenimage: Not a problem for the lack of review, it's not your fault the notifications stopped working! Yeah, it is strange to see Vile being a good guy but it is something not really explored before. Given Vile's personality, I can see him as a capable commander. Also, yes, you have told me many times how much you love this story! (Don't stop BTW!)**_

 _ **Onwards!**_

Nora and Ren appeared in a brief flash of light with their heads spinning somewhat. Teleportation did not do wonders for your body's internal senses since you moved out of position so suddenly.

Ren was coping alright after a few shakes of his head, while Nora's eyes were replaced with spirals and a rather pale complexion on her face. Her head bobbled around as she made a very queasy sounding groan.

"Nora?"

"Uggggggghhhh..."

"Nora? Snap out of it."

She continued to groan and ended up placing her head on Ren's shoulder again, not realising she was drooling on it a little bit. Ren ignored her and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small plastic packet which read:

'Emergency Pancake! In case of Nora, tear packaging.'

He pulled it open and moved the pancake in front of Nora's face. Her nose twitched as she sniffed the delicious aroma and she followed the movement of Ren's hand, licking her lips, though still not opening her eyes.

With his partner back up, Ren flipped the pancake off his hand. It spun in the air a few times before Nora jumped up and ate it in one bite! She chewed on it happily, accompanied by the adorable sounds of her enjoyment. Finally finishing her treat, she opened her eyes and the two observed the room they were in.

It was mostly made of dull, grey metal with a few of the walls decorated by various bright green lights in assorted patterns. Just ahead of them was a large chasm, stretching a great distance with several smaller platforms providing a way across.

"So... where to now?" Nora asked.

"If I had to guess, I'd say over there."

Ren pointed across the chasm to a heavy looking mechanical door. It seemed to be the only way to exit the room so it made logical sense that it was the correct path. The gaps between the platform that led to it though, that made them wish it wasn't the only way.

"Shall we?" He asked, gesturing onwards.

Nora ran over to the edge and peered down into the empty blackness. She couldn't see what was at the bottom and by extension, how far down it actually was.

"Hello!" She shouted down.

" _Hello!... Hello...hello...hello..."_ Her echo answered back

"How far down do you think that is?" She wondered.

Ren checked his guns, ensuring he had plenty of ammo for the battle ahead. Satisfied he put them away and moved back to get a running start.

"Too far." He answered.

Beginning his sprint, he reached top speed instantly. Running to the edge of the floor, he leapt into the air, soaring through it with elegance, his coat flapping gently before he landed on the first platform. He rolled as he landed to prevent injury to his legs and stopped in the centre of it.

"Let's go." She grinned, eager to try her newest trick.

Nora got out her grenade launcher and fired a shot at her feet. Waiting for a few seconds, she then jumped up just as the grenade exploded in a plume of pink smoke. She shot upwards and landed just beside Ren, albeit with a much more noticeable impact on the ground, the echo of her feet on the metal resonating across the entire room.

"Pretty neat trick, huh?" Nora boasted, taking a bow.

"Try to keep the noise down, we don't know what's ahead." Ren warned, though he had to admit it was impressive how Nora could use something as dangerous as an explosion to aid herself.

"Relax, all we have to do is get across this bottomless pit via small platforms! What could possibly go wrong?"

That was either the most well put on sarcasm Ren had heard, Nora being her usual cheery self, or her being oblivious. Frankly, he wasn't sure which it was. The two carried on regardless.

The platforms were getting closer together now, meaning they could both leap over the gaps without the need to grenade jump. Nora practically skipped from one to the next, humming to herself like a kid on their way home from school, but Ren was concerned.

This all seemed far too easy. Platforming across small gaps? Sure the threat of falling an ridiculously long way was there, but the gaps were not exactly impassable. Bit and Byte must have underestimated them. That or they were waiting for the right moment.

 _ **(Insert music: SSBB OST – Battle in the Base)**_

As they went along, Ren thought he heard a sound. A very quick and abrupt 'clunk' noise, like the mechanism of a machine slipping out of rhythm or moving ever so slightly. He took a look above the platforms they were walking on, and his worries were justified.

"Nora! Drop!"

Nora knew well enough to heed Ren's warnings whenever he gave them. She quickly went prone, keeping as low as possible. It was just as well she did, for the ceiling above her platform lowered quickly and nearly crushed her with several sharp spikes. Thankfully it shuddered to a halt above the platform, leaving just enough space for her to crawl around on it.

"I'm alright!" She called back, much to Ren's relief.

He was quickly knocked out of that relaxed state however, as the ceiling above his platform came down upon him as well. This time it did not stop at a certain point but went straight down onto the platform.

With no other option, Ren leapt back off the side of the platform just as the spikes clanged against the metal floor, shaking as they vibrated from the impact.

In the nick of time, Ren pulled out his Stormflower pistols and embedded their blades in the side of the platform. They scraped along the smooth edges, sparking a little before the blades finally caught and brought Ren to a halt. His legs dangled above the abyss beneath him as he held on to his weapons for dear life.

"Ren! You okay?" Nora shouted across from her platform.

"I'm fine Nora! Just hanging around...literally."

Nora started commando crawling over towards Ren's platform, though how she was going to get over there, she did not know.

"Just hang on!"

"Not much else I can do!" He shouted back.

"Great. How could this get any worse?" Nora thought to herself.

 ***RATA-TATA-TAT** *

Nora was forced to shield her eyes with her arm as several shots zipped around her and some pinged off the platform she was crawling along. Looking behind her, she saw several Pantheon's near the door firing their machine gun busters at her. Frustrated, she raised her grenade launcher and fired a few rounds. They flew a fair distance before falling into the inky blackness below.

"I can't hit them, Ren!" She called back, annoyed at her lack of range.

Ren started using his Stormflowers as climbing aids, withdrawing one and moving across before thrusting it into the wall again. Using this method, he hade his way to the edge of the platform and began peering around and firing with one Stormflower while the other held him in place.

Of course, firing a machine pistol to such a distance would be trouble enough regularly. Ren was swinging in mid-air and trying to aim at long range as well. As such, the Pantheon's merely flinched a little as a few bullets nearly hit them, the rest spreading all over the place and making various patterns on the wall and door behind them.

Nora was still out in the open, though she had an idea. Switching to hammer form, she rolled onto her back and placed the weapon against the spikes so that the hammer head was touching them. Bracing herself for the impact, she squeezed the handle trigger and a brilliant pink burst fired from the rear of Magnhild. The ceiling was thrust back up, the inner workings that lowered it breaking and locking in place, finally giving Nora the room to stand again.

"Ren, get your beautiful butt up here!" She called down.

Firing her grenades again, she aimed not at the Pantheons but at the spikes that covered Ren's platform. The explosion tore the pillar in half, the lower spiked section toppling over the edge and falling into the pit.

Ren pulled himself up, arms aching from hanging there for so long before asking;

"What was that about my butt?"

Nora blushed for a moment, shaking her head wildly.

"Uh...nothing! Just help take care of these guys!"

Since now was really not the time to argue, Ren slid down onto one knee, giving himself more support as he fired at the Pantheon's. He now had much better aim, as evidenced by one of the enemies being hit in the chest. The Pantheon clutched it's wound before toppling forward and over the edge. The rest ignored their fallen ally and returned fire.

Nora decided now was a good time to use a technique that Zero had taught her. Holding her hammer about halfway up the handle, she began twirling it around like a marching baton, though at a much more rapid pace. Any shots that reached her were blocked by Magnhild.

Though this provided Ren with some much desired cover, he still struggled to take care of the sheer number of enemies. This was a job for Nora's grenades but they had already proven ineffective at this range. If only there was a way of getting the grenades across the gap.

Then, Ren had an idea. A crazy idea to be sure but then again, crazy was just Nora's forte.

"Nora! Can you set those grenades to a timer?" He asked

"Yeah, about five seconds!"

"Perfect! When I give you the signal, fire off a grenade!" He told her.

"Why? They'll never reach them!"

"Just trust me!"

Nora gave a nod, confident in Ren's plan, he was the smartest guy she knew after all. Weiss disagreed with that of course, but Nora still knew it was true.

"Now!"

Firing a grenade off, the beeping projectile headed across the gap, falling towards the pit as it had done before. This time however, Ren fired off a shot from his Stormflowers just as it was falling.

 ***PING** *

A bullet hit the grenade but did not detonate it. Instead, the extra force pushed it back up and further across the gap. It gave a small tink on the other side as it rolled next to one of the Pantheon's. Feeling the device tap against it's foot, the nearest Pantheon picked it up and examined it.

It saw a pink light flashing rapidly, along with a fast beeping sound. The Pantheon looked up from it and back at Nora in panic before...

 ***KABOOM!** *

The device exploded and small pieces of the Reploids were scattered across the area in front of the door, along with little fires everywhere. A few moments later, the door the Pantheon's were guarding unlocked itself and opened, revealing Ren and Nora's path.

Of course they were suspicious, but there wasn't exactly any other way for them to go at the minute. Ren looked over at Nora, who gave a shrug before making her way across the remaining platforms to the other side, Ren following her closely.

Reaching the door, Ren peered in while Nora watched for any attacks from behind. Her foot bumped into a Pantheon arm, which she casually kicked over the side before trying to look around the side of Ren.

The room was empty with the same decoration as the previous one. To their relief, the floor was fully intact this time around and as a result, they proceeded in. The door locked shut behind them, making both Ren and Nora jump as they looked back at it.

"No going back now." Nora laughed nervously.

"Why would you wanna go back? The party's about to start!"

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman X3 Arranged OST – Boss 1)**_

The two Hunters looked back around with scowls on their faces, they recognised that voice all too well.

Their hunch was proven right as Bit and Byte had both appeared while they were looking at the door. Neither had changed since their last encounter, though Bit looked noticeably more confident than before. His arms were folded and he chuckled at the sight of Ren and Nora. Byte was still composed, but seemed to have a less friendly air around him this time.

"Well, well, well. Look what we've got here, Byte. Seems like the little runts want to go for another round! You do know you're supposed to bring more people to help beat us, not less, right?"

A cheap shot at the expense of Pyrrha and Jaune but both Ren and Nora tried to remain calm. Charging in head first would not win this battle.

"If I recall correctly, you failed in your mission to defeat us last time." Ren answered. "By the way, how is your eye, Bit?"

Bit snarled at the reminder of the injury he suffered at Ren's hand.

"I'll do the same thing with both your eyes, you cocky little bastard!"

"Then come try it, bolt-brain!" Nora taunted, Magnhild ready in hammer form.

"You know what? Screw Xandria! Screw this whole world for Reploids thing! This is now personal! I'm gonna tear you apart limb from limb, Lie Ren!

Byte punched a fist into his hand.

"I've been looking forward to this, young warriors. There will be no mercy this time!"

 _ **(Insert music: Sonic Heroes OST – Robot Carnival)**_

Bit jumped up and rocketed straight towards Ren, using his own body as a projectile! Ren held both Stormflowers up and allowed Bit's head to impact off the blades instead of hitting him. Bit then landed back on his feet and summoned his shield onto his right arm just as Ren fired with his pistols.

The bullets ricocheted of the shield as Bit then followed with two swipes of his shield, trying to simply brute force Ren. The boy was much to agile for that however, as he ducked under both of them with ease. Bit then slammed the bottom of the shield against the floor, sending vibrations that made Ren stumble and allowing Bit to charge into him with the shield.

Byte focused on Nora, who was waiting almost impatiently for his attack. Given his size and figure, she was expecting a close combat fight. She was in for a surprise as Byte bent down low and opened his mouth wide. A burst of flame spewed forth from it and Nora had to use her hammer propulsion trigger to leap out of the way.

A few licks of flame caught Nora, but were quickly extinguished due to their small size making them unsustainable. Byte wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, allowing a few molten drops to drip down before shaking them off his hand.

"Too hot for you, little one? Perhaps a little something to cool you down would help?"

Opening his mouth again, Byte let out a burst of sub zero dust that shot out in a small trail directly ahead of himself. As soon as it touched the floor, ice formed and grew in a trail, raising several jagged shards of cold all over the room.

Rather than try and evade it, Nora changed to her grenade launcher and fired a shot a short distance in front of herself. The explosion hit just as the dust reached it and the shot stopped moving there, making a large mess of random shaped ice appear where the grenade had hit, not even getting close to Nora's position.

Nora now switched Magnhild back to hammer form and brought it down on the ice block, breaking it into large chunks that were sent skyward. She then launched herself up and began swinging at them like tennis balls, using them as projectiles against both Byte and Bit.

Byte moved his hands to block them only when necessary, each one shattering into cold sparkles on impact. One was heading straight for his face but he remained calm. Clasping both hands around it as the tip was just inches away from hitting him between the eyes. Squeezing it with only a minute amount of his power, the ice cracked and broke, the remains tinkling onto the floor.

The icicles that had been launched towards Bit were closing in on their target. All the while, both he and Ren were oblivious to the incoming danger, both occupied with a close quarters fight. Bit utilised his orange energy sword which, though powerful, was struggling to find it's way past both of Ren's blades.

Breaking away from each other, the two enemies started to side step around each other in opposing directions. Ren remained stoic, keeping both blades prepared for another strike, while Bit passed his sword between both hands, itching to get into combat again.

"Come on... hit me!" Bit taunted.

Icicles shattered against the ground just beside Bit, making him look down at it in confusion. He was distracted, and that was just the moment Ren needed.

Whilst looking away, Ren threw himself at Bit, knocking him to the floor while Ren was sat on top of him. Using Stormflower's blades like daggers, he tried to stab through Bit's head. The Reploid tilting his head to the side each time one blade came near.

"You're aiming to kill!" He said in disbelief, before laughing heartily. "I like that!"

He then reached around and grabbed the back of Ren's head, pulling it to the side and making them both roll over. Now Bit had the upper hand, as he began pummelling Ren with several one-two punches to the face.

To get him off, Ren tried a similar move as Bit had, grabbing his head. However, instead of pulling him to the side, Ren brought Bit's head closer to him, before throwing his own forward to headbutt the Reploid right between the eyes. Moving back, Ren pushed himself out from underneath Bit and then kicked him back with both feet before rolling back up again.

Ren made a break for the downed Bit, sprinting across the room to try and finish him off before he could recover. He leapt high into the air with both blades held downwards to stab Bit through! What he got instead, was Byte's fist punching him off to the side, the giant following after him.

"Hahaha! Crush him, Byte! Haha-OOF!"

Bit's cocky instruction was interrupted when he got a face full of Magnhild from Nora. Shaking it off, he saw the bubbly fighter swing down at him again. He rolled to the side in time, gesturing at Nora with silly hand movements.

"Nyeh-nyeh! You're too slow!"

Nora growled and swung again, hitting only the floor where Bit stood a moment ago. She tried again, and again, each time met with more taunts from Bit.

"Aw, so close! Wanna try again?"

Ren meanwhile, wasn't having any more fun with Byte than his previous opponent. Granted his speed made it much easier to avoid the giant than his big mouth counterpart, but Stormflower wasn't exactly the most powerful of weapons. As a result, Ren was scampering around, trying to find an opening in the giants defences.

Byte was going in with low swipes, trying to pluck Ren up from the ground, fruitlessly of course. If anything, it was a hindrance to his efforts of gaining victory, as was to be proven mere moments later.

As he went in for a grab, Ren hopped up onto the giant's arm and hung off it, all the while peppering him with shots from his pistols. Byte briefly held a hand to his face to block them, before moving it forward to try and grab Ren. The ninja like hunter began swinging himself up and onto the top of the arm, then running along it with his fingers never leaving the triggers.

Byte withdrew the tops of the fingers on his free hand, as several rockets emerged from them in their place. All fired out and began swirling around the room, their trails of smoke filling the air, all locked onto Ren and Nora.

Two went for Ren, the first he slid underneath as it passed by Byte's arm, before zooming too far off to turn in time. It impacted on the far side of the room, exploding uselessly.

The second was going at a slower pace and was able to turn much more easily. Ren decided to to drop down and swing off the arm again, this time performing several rotations as the missile followed his every move. All the while, he was gaining speed, forcing the rocket to accelerate to catch up and thus losing more control. It's arc of travel became wider and wider, until finally, Ren gave himself a sudden burst of speed and ended up behind the rocket. With one finely placed bullet, he hit the bottom of the rocket, and sent it straight at Byte's face.

 ***BOOM!***

Byte was forced off his feet, badly injured as half his face was practically gone and sparking badly. The giant fell to the ground with an almighty crash. Ren acrobatically let go of the arm just as he was swinging upwards. Twirling through the air with supreme control, he landed softly on Byte's stomach, bowing respectfully at his fallen foe.

The other three missiles were heading for Nora. One hit the ground in-between her and Bit, making them both jump backwards. Another zoomed around overhead and came up to hit Nora. She swung her hammer back and let it fly forward with double the force.

"FORE!" She called.

The rocket was sent spinning out of control, arcing through the air with it's engine disengaged, before it became apparent it would explode on Bit! In realisation, Bit raised his shield and prepared for impact.

 ***BAM!** *

A cloud of smoke engulfed Bit, as several chunks of the silver metal used on the shield were scattered all around. As the cloud subsided, Bit was still standing, with only a small fraction of his protection still in hand.

"I'm not done yet! Come here!"

Dashing at Nora with full force, he punched her in the gut with his free hand. Nora was winded, coughing up a little blood as a result of the punch. As she fell to her knees, holding her stomach, Bit used the small bit of his shield as a knuckles duster, swiping across her face left and right, alternating between hits.

Dazed, he tossed Nora to the side, letting her bounce across the floor, before holding a hand to his head and bringing an orange ring out again. Nora could barely make out what was happening, her vision was blurred but she could still see Bit waving the hoop at her.

"You remember this, right? Now just sit still and get blown up like a good little girl!"

He threw the hoop and it wrapped itself around Nora, preventing her movement as it had done at Beacon. Looking up, she could see the last rocket making it's way towards her, ready to blow her to kingdom come. She gulped and awaited the burning pain that was sure to follow, while Bit just cackled insanely all the while.

"GAHAHAHA! Say goodbye, you little- WHAT THE HELL?"

Nora looked behind her, wondering what had Bit so shocked. Her relief was palpable as she saw Ren running towards her.

"It doesn't matter! He won't make it in time!" Bit said, trying to reassure himself secretly.

It was true, the rocket was travelling fast enough that even if Ren reached Nora,they would both be caught in the explosion.

But going for Nora was not Ren's plan.

Running with all his might, he managed ot get ahead of the rocket as it whistled above him. He then leapt up and passed over the top of it. Time seemed to slow as he observed it's trajectory, and how to change it. Using the Stormflower blades as hooks, he caught the rocket side on and as he started to fall back down, he tilted the rocket up just a little bit.

It shot over Nora by some margin and instead was heading for Bit, who realised just a little to late.

"You son of a bi-!"

The rocket detonation put a stop to Bit's words with the power and fire. His form completely engulfed in the blast as Ren and Nora watched on. The fire died down, and only a pillar of smoke was left.

Satisfied, Ren pulled the hoop off Nora, who immediately began hugging him like never before.

"We did it!" She squeaked. "I mean I always knew we would but then they nearly had us with their super robot abilities but then you were all like 'woosh!' and I was all like 'Bang bang pow!' and then you blew up that guys face and-"

"Nora, remember to breathe." Ren reminded her.

She stopped and inhaled deeply and loudly. With a sigh, she giggled lightly and smiled at Ren.

"Better?" He asked.

"Better!" She grinned.

"*Cough* Dammit! How the... how the hell did you... beat us?"

Looking at the crater, they found what was left of Bit, which was his head, torso and one arm, the rest of his body either incinerated or broken beyond recognition.

"I'm a Reploid for crying out loud! I'm meant to be better than you! Stronger, faster, smarter!"

Ren and Nora moved over beside him, not feeling the slightest amount of sympathy for their fallen foe. After all, he didn't seem to ask for any, and he certainly deserved none. Ren bent down beside him and spoke.

"You are a Reploid. Maybe you are built to be stronger and faster than us humans, but you still have the soul, the emotions of one. And among those emotions, you felt pride, confidence. In turn, that led you to see us as weak, to underestimate us. Your greatest feature, by your own arrogance, became your downfall."

Bit shook what was left of his head.

"Don't you dare lecture me, human! I don't need your psychological drivel! I don't need your justification for my loss!"

Nora pulled Ren back, looking smugly at Bit as she did so. She fired a grenade at Bit that landed beside him and began beeping on a timer. The two moved back to avoid being caught in the blast.

As they walked however, Nora turned and called back to Bit.

"You don't want Ren's advice, so let me tell it to you in a way you'll appreciate!"

"In the end, you just tried to BYTE off a BIT more than you could chew! Hahahaha!"

A boastful pun, the ones that Bit had used all this time in victory, now he was hearing them in defeat. The irony was not lost on him, but boy did it piss him off. Not that he could do much though, he was in no position to make a retort. Instead, he just turned to her, annoyed.

"Oh, just shut up!"

 ***KABOOM!** *

Bit and Byte were no more.

Satisfied with their handy work, both Ren and Nora made their way to the other side of the room, where another teleporter door was waiting for them, ready to take them back to the main room and (hopefully) their friends.

As the light began to wash over them to transport the duo back. Ren realised just how bad Nora's pun was.

"Nora?" He began.

"Yup?"

"Remind me to never let you hang out with Yang again." He joked.

Nora stifled a laugh before they disappeared, leaving their defeated opponents behind.

 _ **Chapter done! I'll be honest, I wanted to get this one out of the way, simply because it's the weakest of the fights. Everyone else's has better motivation and depth to them.**_

 _ **So anyway, Bit and Byte are down, who will be next I wonder?**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	56. Double or Nothing

_**One down, three to go! Who is up next to face the wrath of the Aberrant Council?**_

 _ **R98: Wait... do you not?**_

 _ **Gravenimage: She is my second favourite girl for a reason! (Pyrrha takes top spot!)**_

 _ **SmashHero75: Thank you for the kind words my friend. I was tempted to have them transform but I couldn't think of many good moves for them. Plus the chapter was long enough and they really were the most minor of the villains.**_

 _ **Gundam-Knight-Chris: *Badum-tsh***_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: Don't pretend you didn't love it! Yeah, what were their names again? Bat and bot? Or something like that?**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: *Makes a note of the song* Good choice man!**_

 _ **Onwards!**_

Axl and Weiss appeared in the same bright light as their friends. Weiss had her eyes closed, it seemed to help with the sickly feeling one got from teleporting. Of course, Axl had no need to, which made it all the more curious why he was being so silent. Weiss slowly let her eyes open.

And immediately wished she hadn't.

There were bodies everywhere, bodies of Reploids and Mechaniloids from long long ago. Most of them were cut apart, with their limbs scattered across the floor, still leaking fluid. They had an expression of shock on their faces, as if taken by surprise, ambushed by their attacker.

With a gulp, Weiss began to slowly make her way forward, Axl following closely. The carnage seemed to go on forever, with the remains not showing any signs of stopping soon. Weiss understandably had her rapier drawn, but her grip was shaky. She was on edge, nervous, afraid, her eyes shooting around the room for any sign of an ambush.

"Jesus..." Axl said quietly as he looked around.

They didn't need a second guess as to who they were expecting to face. Only one member of the Council had shown themselves to be quite as sadistic and loving of death as this.

Weiss was so busy looking around, she didn't notice any of the objects on the ground around her. A clattering sound made her jump slightly, before she realised she had kicked something. She kneeled down to pick it up, while Axl kept watch for any attackers, his pistols drawn.

Holding the object up to the light, Weiss began looking all over it. She was surprised to find an Atlesian army mark on it; the standard white circle with a spear vertically going through it. It was when she saw a tear through the top of it that she realised who it's former owner was.

Gasping, she dropped it back down, trying to press the memory out of her head. The helmet landed on it's side and rolled for a little bit, finally coming to a rest some distance away from the two Hunters. She started to back away, hands over her mouth and shaking her head. Axl ran up and turned Weiss' head towards him.

"It's alright, it's alright! Weiss? Look at me. It's alright."

"Ah, I was wondering where I had put that little trophy." A familiar voice said.

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman Zero 2 Remastered OST – Harpuia)**_

Further ahead, a larger pile of Reploid bodies was stacked high towards the ceiling. At the top of which, stood an infamous yellow Reploid, the purple fluid within his limbs bubbling slightly with each movement and piercing red eyes that were visible even from the distance he stood at.

"Double!" Axl called him out.

Sneering, Double then leapt off the pile and began sliding down it, using a wrist blade to control his speed before hopping off at the bottom and standing before the two heroes in all his glory.

"Good to see you again, prototype. I still owe you a beat down for that little stunt you pulled on the train. You and that little copy chip of yours managed to get you out of a pinch last time."

"Perhaps you'd like another demonstration?" Axl asked, aiming both guns at Double.

Double waved him away.

"There will be plenty of time for your annihilation later on, prototype. Right now though, I'm more interested in her."

"Keep away from her!" Axl stood protectively in front of Weiss.

"Now, now Axl, it's very rude to keep two friends apart from each other. Me and the snowflake here have so much catching up to do! Isn't that right, Weiss?"

Weiss was near paralysed with fear, moving back as quickly as she could while Double kept on advancing towards her.

"Found that little trinket lying around after the battle of Beacon. I've got plenty of Reploid trophies but humans are so fragile, they barely leave anything behind. Still, that commander's helmet is a great start to my collection, even has a hole in it to mount on the wall! Haha!"

"Of course, that's just the start of it! Soon I'll have a whole lot more to add to the collection. Right now though, I've got my eyes on a very rare piece. Your rapier will make a fine addition..."

Double activated both energy blades, their purple glow illuminating Weiss's terrified eyes.

"...once I take it from your cold, dead hands!"

"Not if I can help it!" Axl bravely spoke.

Double gave a small 'tsk' and shook his head. Before anyone knew what was happening, he had dashed over to Axl and punched him in the gut. As Axl leaned forward, Double grabbed Axl's head from both sides and pulled it downwards to strike it against his kneecap. He then took a hold of Axl's arm and flung him across the room, letting the shape shifter skid along the floor.

"Raise shields!" Double ordred.

A glowing blue energy field descended from the ceiling and moved towards the floor, creating a wall between Axl and Double.

"You've saved her skin once already, prototype. This is between me and her! Don't worry though, I'll be sure to finish you off once I'm done making this ice queen into snowflakes!"

"No!" Axl got back up and ran up to the shield.

It was like a solid wall, with only a few ripples on the surface where his hands made contact. He tried firing his pistols at it but the effect was no different.

Weiss meanwhile, was trying to stand her ground, though she was finding it difficult. What little bravery she had in the face of this monster had come from Axl facing him with her. Now that he couldn't help her, her fear was almost palpable.

"Shall we begin our time of bliss together, Weiss?" Double grinned. "I've been looking forward to this!"

 _ **(Insert music: Double Theme Metal Remix by TheSturmgeist13)**_

Diving forward, Double slammed down with both energy blades at Weiss' position. She just managed to raise her rapier in time for both to be blocked, the sheer strength of Double pushing her back. The two then began a very one sided exchange, with Double forcing Weiss back constantly. She barely attacked him, only blocking his strikes and moving back constantly.

A wide block from Weiss left her open to attack and Double took the opportunity to boot her in the chest, sending Weiss skidding across the floor on her back. She was then forced to roll to the side as Double swung a blade down at her, scarring the floor with a red hot gash. She quickly got back up and prepared for his next attack.

A thrust came next but Weiss deflected his arm downwards, grabbing him by the wrist in the process. She had hoped to try and pull Double off balance but his strength proved too much.

"YAH!" Weiss squealed as he twisted the wrist she had used to grab his right back around, nearly breaking it as he did so.

Double then pulled her arm behind her back, twisting himself around to get in the perfect position for a swipe with his other blade. Fighting through the pain, Weiss managed to raise Myrtenaster in time to defend herself. She then fired the revolver attachment and a burst of flame hit Double in the face, making him relinquish his grip on her.

The two broke off with Weiss examining her wrist for any significant damage, while Double wiped the burning embers off his face. Weiss was satisfied she could continue using her hand and turned back around slowly, she near had a heart attack when Double lunged at her again without warning and a renewed anger after her little stunt.

They began moving among the piles of Reploid remains. The mechanical graveyard making a narrow corridor for them to fight along. Double kept up his powerful swings, making sparks fly as his blades swung wide and clipped off the scrap metal piles.

Double moved in close and grabbed Weiss by the throat. Her eyes widening as she clutched and pulled at Double's hand, to no avail. He brought Weiss down low, nearly making her lie flat on the ground as he then used his free hand to bring Myrtenaster towards Weiss, trying to end her life by her own weapon.

The rapier edge came perilously close to her face, Weiss was leaning as far back as she could, while Double muttered and laughed to himself. Her doom was mere inches away, she was unsure of what to do in her panicked state. Looking around, she saw Axl banging against the shield, shouting at her.

"Semblance!" He cried. "Use your semblance!"

At the last moment, Weiss cast a push glyph at Double's feet and threw him over the top of her. He landed face first on the ground and dropped Myrtenaster by his side. Weiss tried to grab it but Double leapt back up and kicked her in the face, knocking Weiss away from her weapon. In retaliation, she cast a pull glyph on Double's leg and threw off balance again, allowing her time to grab the rapier.

Seeing Double was still down, Weiss twirled her rapier around to a back hand position and prepared to stab down on his chest. Double activated one energy blade and blocked the attempt, though he allowed it to come close.

"Yeah, that's more like it!" He cackled.

Activating his other arm blade, Double pincered Weiss' rapier in, ensuring she could not withdraw with it. His shoulder compartments then opened with a hiss, with Weiss watching them in anticipation of an attack. The sound of something spinning up caught her attention. Unable to move her body, Weiss just managed to tilt her head to the side enough as two spinning blades emerged, one from each compartment.

The first whizzed past her hair, removing a few of the styled locks that gently floated downwards. The second followed on too quickly and Weiss found herself unable to evade in time.

 ***BZZT** *

The heiress grimaced as the second blade cut the top of her right arm, tearing through her combat uniform and piercing the skin underneath. Regardless, she spun the revolver attachment and fired an electrical current along her blade. It connected to Double's arms and forced him to release Myrtenaster.

Weiss stumbled back and gently placed a hand over her injured arm. Crimson blood dripped onto the floor and covered her hand, not to mention going all over her combat skirt! (Do you know how long it takes to get blood out of clothes?)

The buzzing saws drew near again, their haunting noise increasing in volume as they approached. Weiss swung her rapier over her head and one blade clanged off the sword edge, shooting off in another direction away from her. The second, she was too slow to react to.

"GAGH!"

Weiss went down on one knee as the second blade cut through the back of her thigh. It zoomed up and around again, going for Weiss' face. Holding the blade upwards, Weiss protected herself and the saw bounced off the edge and backtracked along the way it had come.

Of course, this just gave the other saw the same opening it's other had. This time the gash went right across her back. A scream would have come out but the suddenness and pain of the cut silenced Weiss' voice.

Her blade clattered against the floor as her grip faded, the pain was simply too much, the attacks were draining her aura too quickly. Weiss flopped forward, face down as she tried to recuperate and regain some strength. She heard the blades whizzing away from her and clicking back into Double's shoulders as the insane Reploid approached her.

Weiss didn't even look up at him, at least until she was forced to by his hand grabbing her throat and raising her up. He didn't try to crush her airway or choke her, no, he wanted to see the look of terror in her eyes.

"Giving up already, Ice Queen?" He taunted.

Axl just watched on, unable to intervene no matter how much he wanted to.

Weiss didn't respond, partly from a lack of energy and also her dignity. She may have turned her back on the traditional Schnee values, but some habits stuck with her. If she was going to die here, she would not give Double the satisfaction of seeing her cower or beg. She would be gracious even in defeat.

"Come on, scream for me." He smirked.

Again, Weiss did nothing but look at him. It was then that she noticed his face growing more and more angry.

"Scream, dammit!" Double bellowed.

"Why should I?" She replied. "You've won, haven't you? You can kill me, end this battle and go back to your mistress in victory... or can you?"

"Shut your mouth! I'll-"

"No, no, hold on. Let me figure this out." Weiss looked smugly at Double. At least if she was going to die, she could piss him off.

Then, realisation hit Weiss like a lightning strike. She knew why Double was so angry, so determined to see her in a state of terror. It wasn't just a morbid delight, at least not primarily.

"I see... that's why you want me to show fear. It's not just a desire, it's a need." Weiss deduced.

"The hell are you talking about?" Double feigned confusion, though Weiss would have none of it.

"Fear is your greatest strength, Double! You told me so often of how the Hunters you betrayed were terrified of you. You told me of the fear in their eyes as you cut them down without mercy! Ever since we first fought, you've been using my fear as a means of dominance, a way of keeping me from defeating you. If I don't fear you, then what do you have?"

Double's face gave way to the truth. His viscous snarl giving way to a nervous and forced look of defiant anger. His grip loosened slightly, to Weiss' relief and his voice carried none of the former authority it had before.

"N-nonsense!" He shot back, more timidly than before. "I could beat you anyway!"

"Your behaviour belies your words, Double." Weiss shot back, realising she had a chance to turn this battle.

"Don't lie to me! Did you not feel the confusion first when you saw JNPR defeat the Scorpia? Didn't the feeling grow when Ruby held her own against Zero of all people at Beacon? Then Axl found you, despite every attempt you had made to rid yourselves of the Hunters, they still chased you down, relentlessly!"

Double shook his head as Weiss kept going.

"Now, even as you stand here, with me seemingly at your mercy, you still need to inspire fear in me because you know what we are capable of! You have seen what we humans can do, and it terrifies you!"

"But you're weak, defenceless! Your friends can't save you! You have no weapon, no plan, no nothing!" Double bellowed back.

"Oh, I think you'll find they can!" Weiss laughed.

Double then saw Myrtenaster in Weiss' hand once again. She raised it upwards and held her finger over the trigger..

"You really need to pay more attention in battle." She wiggled her fingers. "Semblance, remember?"

 ***BANG** *

A fire dust shot was launched straight at the ceiling, hitting the shield generator and destroying it in a spectacular explosion. The shield began to retract and Double watched in horror as it did so. He snarled at Weiss, then raised a fist in anger and punched her across the room.

"You're gonna pay for that you little bitch!" Double fumed, preparing to tear into Weiss again.

"DOUBLE!" A familiar voice called.

Looking over, Weiss saw Axl sprinting towards Double, full of rage at nearly seeing her killed. Axl slammed a hand against his chest crystal, causing a series of data numbers to begin covering him.

"Transform!" He shouted.

Axl's body became a white silhouette for a few brief moments as it began to change due to his copy ability. When the glow subsided, Axl's form had changed to a different type of Reploid. It appeared to be an armadillo, purple in colour with white metallic armour all over. He also carried two round shields and both the armour and shields had patterns of red crystals on them.

In his new form, Axl curled up, allowing the armour to cover his whole body. He then began spinning up before launching himself at Double, rolling along the ground with tremendous speed. Double fired off a few energy spheres to try and prevent the attack, but they simply deflected off the armour. With nothing to stop him, Axl slammed into Double's form, stunning the evil Reploid and leaving him open.

Axl unfurled and changed again. This time it was a bear Reploid with a regular looking left arm but a giant red claw with sharpened blades for the right arm. Axl began tearing into Double, dealing damage with wide sweeping slashes. To finish his combo off, Axl leapt back and fired a glowing crescent shot from his claw. It passed right through Double and left the psychotic villain badly damaged.

A final transformation saw Axl change into a red and black turtle like Reploid with a large black shell that had two green gems within it. Turning his back to Double, Axl let out a barrage of missiles that whistled across the room towards Double. The evil Reploid closed his eyes and awaited the impact.

 ***BOOM BOOM BOOM KABOOM** *

Several enormous explosions rocked the room and the flames obscured Double from view, as did the smoke that followed from the crater. Satisfied that nothing could survive that, Axl transformed back to his original form and ran over to Weiss who was just getting back onto her feet. She seemed worse for wear but dusted herself off and adjusted her skirt to it's correct position.

"Honestly, some people have no respect for clothing." She scolded, much to Axl's amusement.

"Guess I don't have to ask if you're okay then?"

"The gesture is still appreciated." Weiss smiled.

Axl and Weiss began to make their way towards the teleporter back to the main room, the only sounds filling the room being Weiss' heels, Axl's clanking footsteps and the crackling of burning embers from Double's grave.

At least until...

 ***THUNK***

Both heroes turned around, weapons drawn as the clattering of metal continued. They could not see what was happening through the smoke until something was cast out of it, landing on the floor with tinkling of glass. Axl and Weiss moved forward cautiously. On the floor in front of them, was a familiar yellow and glass chassis.

*Double's body?" Axl realised.

"Yes, but you notice something missing?"

Weiss was correct. The shell of Double was there, robotic face and all but the glass on his chest was shattered. In addition, there was no purple liquid to be found. That would have been of no concern, were it not for the voice that followed.

" _Ho HO bOy! Now lOOk WHat yOu'vE gONE anD DonE!"_

From within the smoke, a purple, gooey substance stretched out. An open, misshapen hand slammed into the ground and dragged the rest of the body forward. The figure was unmistakeable. It was Double all right, his face and body shape still visible in the violet mess, but he was imperfect with abnormal shapes and points all over himself. What stood out though, was the two glowing red circles for eyes, and his distorted voice.

"tElL me WeiSs, dO yOu StiLL nOT FeAR me nOw?"

Double raised himself up, his body dripping and squelching with the most sickening of noises as he did so. His idle pose was unsteady, his form body popping and twitching constantly while the liquid itself bubbled violently.

"No!" Weiss defiantly shouted back.

"Why should I? I have proven you are not infallible, you can be beaten! As I long as I stand with my friends, together, I have no reason to be afraid of you or any foe!"

Double moved in low, stretching his face close to Weiss', grinning at her.

"ThEN tAke jOY in tHE facT thAt YOu wIll DIE BraVeLY aT LEAsT!"

 _ **(Insert music: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door OST – Shadow Queen – Phase 2)**_

Double stretched his arms out across the length of the room, placing them at either side before sweeping them along the floor towards the middle. Both Axl and Weiss leapt upwards. Axl began firing his pistols down at Double and Weiss shot several fire dust shots. They all bounced off the jelly like exterior, seemingly having no effect.

The arms then shot out at tremendous speed as Axl and Weiss fell back down to the ground. Axl was grabbed by one of the arms and propelled back with it into the wall at the far end of the room. Weiss cast a glyph and boosted her speed to get around the arm, she then swung down and cut off the end of it. The hand flopped around on the floor uselessly as it then melted into nothing. The rest of the arm was retracted and wrapped around itself to create a new hand.

"Axl!" Weiss called.

The hand retracted and Axl fell back down off the wall, landing on both feet with only a few scratches on his armour.

"Don't worry about me, watch yourself!"

Sound advice as Double was springing forward, his arms slamming on the ground at Weiss' position. She quickly cast a trail of ice in front of herself and skated along it to gain increased mobility and speed. As she travelled along, Weiss began firing at Double again, still the shots had no effect other than annoying him slightly.

Double then stretched his arms up to the ceiling, letting them splatter and sick onto it. He then pulled himself up towards them, leaving Weiss and Axl far below. Once on the ceiling, Double split himself apart into several small, spiked blobs that began spreading out across the room. In perfect synchronisation, they began to fall towards the floor.

"Uh oh..." Weiss gulped.

"Oh no you don't!" Axl shouted.

Running up to Weiss, he transformed again. This time it was a pink and yellow Reploid with two large white shells on either arm. Axl leapt towards Weiss and covered both himself and her with the shells just as the spike blobs were reaching them. The blobs exploded as soon as they made contact with any surface, for most of these this was the floor but some found their target. The shell coverings were bounced around by the explosions like a pinball in its machine but the covering held strong, outlasting all of the spikes which all began morphing back together.

Re-emerging as his recognizable form, Double waited to see what damage had been caused. The shells opened and straight away, Weiss used her semblance to throw herself at Double, her rapier held to the front. She headed straight towards Double and struck him in the chest.

 ***KA-SPLASH** *

Double's body was broken into tiny globules of purple liquid that writhed on the floor as Weiss admired her handiwork. Surprise took over however, as the goo merged back together again, and Double came back with no ill effects on him!

" _dOn'T ThiNK That'LL woRk oN ME, IcE QueEN!"_

The purple monstrosity now formed into a gigantic sphere and began bouncing towards Weiss, each time it landed, the ground was terraformed beneath it.

She was not worried though. Weiss placed a glyph on either side of the sphere and commanded both to pull at the same time. The orb stretched and groaned as the forces acted upon it, pulling it apart slowly but surely. A final tug from the glyphs made the sphere split down the middle, leaving a pool of the purple liquid in the centre as the two halves flopped down.

Rejoining again, Double began twisting his body around rapidly, forming a tornado like effect with a strong wind blowing around the room. The vortex moved towards one of the junk piles and began taking in the scrap metal. It whirled in the centre for a few moments before Double began flinging chunks of it out of himself.

Weiss gracefully leapt over the first large projectile that came her way. Another was flung in front of her to ensure she would hit it.

"Enkoujin!"

Using the fire stab technique she learned from Zero, Weiss cancelled her forward momentum and shot downwards, allowing her to continue running on. Another piece of debris flew low to the ground towards her. Casting an ice path in front of herself, Weiss slid low down and underneath the obstacle which exploded on the ground behind her.

Axl opted for an alternative method. Using his copy ability, he changed into a humanoid Reploid with green vines all over himself, along with an arrangement of red rose petals on his head. Axl threw out one of the vines from his arm and embedded it into the wall. Swinging up from hit, he easily out manoeuvred all the projectiles coming towards him.

As another passed close by to him, Axl cast a vine with his other hand and wrapped it around the junk ball. Carrying the momentum through, he changed the balls course and flung it straight back at Double.

Double sent out another stream of junk to destroy it but he was running low on ammunition at this point, his defence shots doing little but chip away at the attack coming for him. The ball ploughed into his tornado form and blew apart. He was brought him to a sudden halt, his jelly like body pulling itself off the scrap metal and reforming.

"GrRr! FoRGet thiS! TimE to gEt UP ClOSe AnD pERsonAl!"

Double then lunged at Weiss, who fired on him with several fire dust rounds to counter the assault. Ignoring the attacks, Double brought himself right up next to Weiss. His chest then split apart, a yawning chasm that moved ever closer to the heiress.

Weiss backed away but fell back without warning. Looking at her foot, she saw one of Double's gooey arms had latched onto her and prevented her from moving. She began slashing furiously at Double's body as it began to surround her on all sides. A chunk landed on her arm and put a stop to her retaliatory slashes. More of the jelly body began to engulf her until her face and body were the only parts visible. Still she struggled on before Double closed the opening her had made, an covered her completely.

"Weiss!" Axl cried.

"HaHAHa! NoW IT's YouR tURn PrOToTyPE!" Double cackled, moving towards Axl.

Axl held out his arm in front of himself, pointing it at Double. Bending his hand down, he fired a small cable out from the top of his wrist. Double gave a confused grunt as it squelched into his forehead. Axl then squeezed his hand and a line of electrical energy shot along the cable and started coursing through Double.

The jello man recoiled in pain, juddering as brilliant blue arcs of lightning shot through his semi-liquid form. He was not so easily bested however, as the fiend leaned forward and redirected most of his inner fluid to the head area. In doing so he redirected the flow of energy back along the cable. Axl had a split second of realisation before the energy shorted out the device on his wrist and knocked him off his feet.

Enraged, Double stormed towards Axl, his arms raised in fury and ready to crush Axl like a tin can beneath his incredible power.

"DiE YoU anNOYinG lIttLe... WhaT tHE heLL?"

As he was looking down at Axl, Double saw a small chunk of ice lodged in his body. Reaching into his own form, Double pulled the frozen part out and tossed it aside. He gave a bewildered roar as the icy covering grew back again. Then it began to expand further along his body, the ice crackling as it reached new areas and froze the purple liquid instantly. Soon his whole torso was covered and the sub-zero substance began moving across his arms.

"no! NO! NOOOooOOoOOoooOoOooOO!"

Double screamed in distorted agony, clawing away at the ice as his feet were frozen in place and his arms soon lost their movement as well. As the covering moved around his face, Double's expression was frozen in panic, the last sight his eyes saw was Axl looking on in awe.

As the final bit of ice covered Double, the room fell quiet. Axl slowly got up and approached the popsicle Double with caution. Then the ice began to creak and snap, large cracks forming all across Double's frozen body. Fearing he was going to break out, Axl readied his pistols.

The body continued to buckle under the pressure of whatever was underneath, several small flakes falling off the frozen statue until, with a high pitched accompanying noise, Double was shattered into tiny fragments. His body exploding in a cloud of sub zero dust and tinkling shards of cold.

Axl shielded his eyes as small ice particles pinged off his armour. Looking into the dust, he saw a figure standing in amongst the cloud. At first, he assumed it was Double who had broken free. Then he saw the long flowing ponytail and combat uniform fluttering gently.

"Weiss?" Axl queried, his voice full of relief.

As the dust cleared, Axl got a better view. Weiss was panting since it seemed she had to hold her breath while trapped by Double. She was also covered in the purple liquid, her hair and clothes dripping with it as she shook her head to rid herself of the excess.

"Are... are you okay?" Axl asked.

"Am I okay?" Weiss parroted, as her voice got more annoyed.

"Am... I...okay? LOOK WHAT HE DID TO MY COMBAT SKIRT!"

Weiss was fuming! If this were a cartoon she would have steam coming out of her ears and it was a miracle that she hadn't ground her teeth to pieces! Then, as quickly as she had gotten mad, a sweet smile graced her face and her voice was calm.

"Other than that, I'm fine!" She chirped.

Axl dared to move in a bit closer, still unsure if Weiss was going to go full rage mode again. He poked her arm gently to see if he got a response. Weiss looking at him was the only one he got.

"Double may not have been scared of you, but you terrified me back there! Heaven forbid if I ruin one of your combat outfits!"

The two laughed heartily, taking joy in the victory respite they now briefly had. They then began to make their way towards the exit, leaving what was left of Double to melt away and evaporate.

"By the way." Axl began, his arms behind his head. "That whole speech you gave to Double earlier, about not being scared of him, was that true? Or were you just putting on a brave face?"

"Of course it was true!" Weiss insisted. "A Schnee doesn't fear anything... most of the time. Besides..."

Axl was caught off guard as Weiss hugged him.

"...I had you with me the whole time, so why should I be afraid?"

Axl happily hugged her back and the two just savoured the moment for a short time. Finally letting each other go, they moved towards the exit teleporter, the same coloured gate standing before them.

"Ready to take on the next one?" Axl asked.

Weiss nodded. "Together."

The light engulfed them and Axl and Weiss vanished, leaving Double and all he had wrought upon them, behind.

 _ **Another chapter down! Took a bit longer than usual but I've had a busy week, even without essays and stuff! Dammit life, can't you just leave me to write in peace for a while?**_

 _ **So Double is finally gone. I know some people wanted Zero next but hang tight, he will come in time.**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	57. Bring Down the Gate

_**Gravenimage: Glad you enjoyed it! They do compliment each other well.**_

 _ **Gundam-Knight-Chris: Number 3 by my count!**_

 _ **Grimlock987: I planned on doing one if there was enough interest and there certainly seems to be. I'm actually planning it out now in between writing these up!**_

 _ **Locke lynx: Don't worry, terrible jokes are a great way to break the ice! Actually, we have three left: Sigma, Xevach and the one in this chapter as well as Xandria. FOR EVERLASTING PEACE!**_

 _ **SmashHero75: Aw shucks, you're making me blush! Well done on recognising the transformations there mate and don't worry, Sigma and Zero will be along after this chapter!**_

 _ **R98: See grimlock987 comment :3**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: Fashion is a serious business, especially for Weiss! Yeah, Double's gonna have a lot of tally marks on his sin counter. I doubt the God of robots will be lenient with him!**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Glad the pairing has grown on you. I sort of got the idea from the whole 'opposites attract' thing. Weiss can learn from Axl's fun loving, and Axl can be kept in check by Weiss. As for the underlying theory about Reploids becoming obselete; I wasn't trying to go that far, but it is getting to the point where humanity can survive on it's won without Reploids taking all the protective measures of the past.**_

 _ **Onwards!**_

"Wow, B movie scientist much?" Yang joked, raising an eyebrow at the sights around them.

Yang and Ruby were making their way along a deactivated production line area. Various unfinished robot designs were being hung from large chains and bars on the ceiling and walls around them. Several computers were cycling their way through information and data, their whirrs and beeps echoing around the room.

"Just keep your eyes peeled." Ruby warned. "Gate said something about his experiments when we last saw him, and I don't feel like being a guinea pig for any of them right now."

Yang was busy looking at one of the designs on the assembly line. The top half of a robot was suspended from on of the bars, hanging by it's forearms. The lower parts, along with it's hands, were missing and the robot itself seemed incapable of operation. A blue and yellow colour scheme was present on the completed sections, with the head of a wolf like animal. A yellow, two pronged headdress was placed atop the head, along with a small blue beard on the chin. Hanging next to the robot, was an Egyptian cane with a blue spherical jewel in the centre.

"Anubis Necromancess MK. III." Yang read from the datapad beside the robot.

"A Reploid designed with the ability to revive as long as the central CPU core is active. This is to be achieved through the use and continued development of nanobot technology. The current model has been revived twice previously, once after being bisected and another after a crash test in a shuttle. The second crash caused severe damage to the CPU and, as a result, I have had to deactivate the Reploid for repairs. Continued development of CPU protection is advised."

Yang was just thankful that Anubis was deactivated right now, she didn't want to stomach the thought of fighting an enemy with the potential to be immortal.

"Hey, sis! Look at this!" Ruby called.

Yang came over and saw Ruby on her hands and knees, poking away at two large dog like robots, both deactivated. On the table they hid under was another datapad and a larger version of the dog head. Yang picked up the head and examined it. It was a mix of purple, blue and black with red eyes and sharp teeth. Ruby picked up the datapad and read from it.

"It's another entry."

"Go on then." Yang encouraged her.

"Tretista Kelverian: A heavy weapons strike force unit. The Reploid is incredibly strong, able to use his claws with a total of 30 tonnes of pressure. The initial design showed that speed and manoeuvrability were something of an issue, but I believe I have found a solution. The two smaller Mechanaloids underneath are independent units, able to be dispatched from storage compartments on Kelverian's shoulders. Their speed ensures that any stray units will be hunted down successfully. I intend to test these improvements once the main unit has been upgraded."

Yang flicked through the specifications, whistling as she saw the height, weight and power of the Reploid.

"Man, Gate makes some pretty impressive toys."

Yang looked around at the rest of the machines, until her eyes fell upon something that made her jump slightly.

"Um... Ruby?"

"Yeah?" Ruby responded, still stroking the robotic puppers.

"Blake didn't come in here with us, did she?"

"Noooooooo... why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason. Just that SHE'S STANDING RIGHT OVER THERE!" Yang shouted.

Ruby looked over and, true to her sister's word, Blake was standing against one of the assembly lines, one side of her body visible as she looked perpendicular to the direction the siblings were facing. Shrugging, Yang approached, with Ruby following.

"Hey, Kitty Cat!" Yang called over, waving as she did so.

Blake didn't even flinch or react in any way.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to meet up with the big boss?"

"..."

Yang folded her arms in a huff.

"What's gotten into you? Was it something I said?"

She then stormed over to Blake and grabbed her shoulder, turning the faunus towards her in the process.

"C'mon Blake, snap out of...WOAH HO HO!"

Yang recoiled as Blake faced her, or rather, what she thought was Blake.

Whilst the right side of Blake's body looked normal, it turned out to be a synthetic covering. The left side was striped bare, revealing the inner workings of robotic parts and machinery.

"A...a copy?" Ruby stuttered in surprise.

"Yeah... heh heh!" Yang laughed nervously.

As with the other robots, a data pad was present to give additional information. Ruby read through it.

"Exciting developments! Following the battle of Beacon, Mistress Xandria has been able to acquire some basic battle data from the humans we fought against. Team RWBY and JNPR, I believe they were called. The data is only simple and will take time to expand upon, however, I have been working on this prototype build of Blake Belladonna. I expect it to be ready for testing within the week. In addition, Sigma is gathering data on one of the humans in particular. He claims that her abilities are unique among the humans and has promised me whatever information he finds to be put into the copies. I can only hope he does not lead me on a wild goose chase."

"I guess you could call it a 'copy cat'?" Yang joked, pointing finger guns at Ruby with a wink.

 ***CLAP*...*CLAP*...*CLAP***

"A pun so bad, it was actually good."

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman X6 OST - Gate Theme Sequenced)**_

Both girls drew their weapons and looked past the fake Blake to the figure standing just a few feet in front of them, clapping sarcastically.

"Gate!" Ruby snapped.

"I'm so glad you took me up on my offer! I've been looking for something new to experiment on. Robots can get so tiresome after a while. Genetically advanced humans sound much more intriguing, wouldn't you agree?"

"What do you think you're doing?" Yang asked. "Did you try to build a copy of Blake just to use against us? To control her just like you did with Pyrrha?"

"Hahaha! Don't be silly, Miss Xiao Long. I didn't build a copy of Blake..."

Gate threw his arms out and a series of containment tubes shot up from the floor. Floating inside each container of stasis liquid, was a different member of Team RWBY and JNPR!

"I built copies of all of you! GAHAHAHA!"

That was not something the siblings were expecting, to say the least. Luckily, none seemed to be completed. Some wee missing various parts of the synthetic covering, and others were barely in a functional state! The Jaune copy for instance had an upper torso with synthetic covering, but no legs, arms or weapons.

"Of course." Gate continued. "They are nowhere near finished yet. I must confess that I was hoping to have them ready for battle, but you arrived much sooner than I expected. Not to worry though, I do have one toy ready for you to play with."

He tossed yet another datapad in front of them, letting it skid along the floor before their feet.

"Here is a preview while I get her ready!"

With a press of a button on his wrist, the floor beside Gate opened up and an elevator whirring sound could be heard, growing louder as it approached their level.

Yang fired a shot at Gate, only for it to be absorbed by an energy shield that covered the area around Gate. The scientist waggled his finger at them.

"Now now, I want to watch this little fight as well you know! There is no point wasting your ammo on me, save it for your next opponent!"

With a growl of anger, Yang lowered her weapons and picked up the datapad, still scowling at Gate while Ruby awaited the elevator and their enemy's arrival.

"What does it say Yang?" Ruby asked impatiently.

"I have recently acquired a new addition to our forces. The unit was recovered from Beacon Academy shortly after the battle, seemingly unable to be retrieved by our enemy given their haste to evacuate. The unit took significant damage but the CPU and all essential components remained intact. I have personally seen to upgrading the body of this Reploid, as well as overpowering the memory and emotion matrix."

Ruby suddenly had a nervous feeling in her gut, why did this all sound so horribly familiar to her? Yang continued regardless.

"The unit does not seem to have an operating number, however, I do recall hearing those of Team RWBY refer to the unit by a conventional name."

The elevator arrived and Ruby froze where she was, paling at the sight before her. The enemy emerged. A black colour scheme with glowing green lines adorned her reinforced and upgraded armour. It did not contain any blouse or other item of clothing she normally wore. Instead it was a full body covering that appeared skin tight, giving way to a freckly face and ginger hair, curled slightly on either side.

"This unit's name is confirmed to be..."

" _Penny!"_ Both Yang and Ruby said at the exact same moment.

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman Zero 4 Remastered OST – On The Edge)**_

Penny stepped off the elevator and moved beside Gate, scowling at Ruby and Yang all the while.

"Yes, look who I found lying around in pieces." Gate laughed, taking great delight in the suffering he could see etched on Ruby's face.

"My friend here has a small problem with you and your friends. It seems you left her to die, and she's not too happy about that! So now, I think it is time for her to return the favour. Right, Penny?"

Penny's answer came in the form of her blades being summoned from her back. Eight of them, all fanned out around her like petals on a flower.

"Now, go ahead and destroy them. After all, you are combat ready! Hahahaha!"

"Penny..." Ruby whimpered, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

Penny remained ignorant of her friend's pain, a look of anger on her face. Regardless of what she meant to Ruby and Yang before this, now she was under orders to terminate both of them. Penny lowered her blades and prepared to strike. Yang activated her gauntlet and buster in response.

"Yang... please don't!" Ruby begged between tears. "She's... she's our friend!"

"That's exactly why we have to do this." Yang replied solemnly. "I'm sorry sis."

Reluctantly, Yang moved forward, swinging a right hook at Penny who easily dodged the attempt. Countering with a swipe kick, Yang ducked under it and aimed her buster at Penny. A split second after, Penny kicked the bottom of Yang's buster and knocked her aim off.

Ruby tried to intervene but Penny, without looking, backhanded her former friend, causing Ruby to stumble. Penny then leapt up and gave Yang a two footed boot to the chest. Winded, Yang slid back across the floor as Penny turned to face Ruby again.

Penny grabbed Ruby's right arm and pulled it upwards, swooping underneath it herself. With one arm unable to defend her and the other holding Crescent Rose, Ruby felt the full force of an elbow to her stomach followed by the hand flicking up and punching her in the face. Dazed, Ruby was then thrown over Penny's shoulder and landed on the ground with a sickening thud.

She tried to get back up and crawl away but Penny leapt on top of her and pinned Ruby to the ground. Grabbing the arm once again, she yanked it behind Ruby's back, a few cracks being heard as the socket was brought to the limits of it's regular area movement.

"Penny! It's me, Ruby! Snap out of it!" She begged between pained breaths.

"Impressive..." Gate approached, the smug look on his face making Ruby's anger seethe. "She is exceeding all expectations. I expected some resistance from her, but the Penny you know has been suppressed by my genius programming skills."

"YAAAAAH!" Ruby screamed as Penny gave her arm another twist.

Gate sneered evilly as he enjoyed the tragic scene unfolding before him. Only being drawn away from it by the sounds of footsteps running up to him.

"You sicko!" Yang cried, throwing a flame fuelled punch at Gate.

Gate gave a small tut as Yang's hand approached him. His head was right in the firing line, it would be a direct hit! Then, in a flash, he was standing beside Yang. Before she could comprehend what was happening, Gate pulled Yang's fist down, letting it smash into the floor. He then zipped in front of her face again and threw an almighty uppercut with enough force to knock Yang off her feet, landing back down with a groan.

"Nice try, Yang." Gate said mockingly, dusting off his hands.

"What the... what the hell... *gugh*...was that?" Ruby asked, flinching as her arm was pulled tighter.

"Sigma was very interested in the legend of the Silver Eyed Huntsmen. At first I didn't believe him, thinking of it as nothing more than an old fairy tale. Despite my ignorance, he was kind enough to share some of the data with me. Your data, to be precise, Miss Rose."

Gate clicked his fingers and Penny released Ruby from the hold, letting the girl flop back down and carefully check her arm as Penny ran over beside Gate. Yang ran over to Ruby as she gingerly got back up and the two awaited the next phase of battle.

"Well now, isn't this one big reunion? I could have Penny tear you to shreds but then I would be feeling left out. Besides, I think the odds are fair now, two on two? Right, Penny?"

Penny only looked at Gate in response to hearing her name before looking back at Ruby and Yang with a single goal in mind, namely, their destruction.

As the battle began, Penny used her blades to propel herself upwards and hovered there, awaiting an opportunity to strike. Gate stayed on the ground, checking a device on his wrist. He smiled to himself before shutting it off.

"I calculate your odds of defeat to be in excess of 75%, even when fighting together. I would humbly suggest y-"

 ***BANG!** *

Gate hunched over as a shot ripped through his shoulder. Turning in anger, he saw Yang looking at him with a grin on her face and a smoking buster cannon.

"Oh I'm sorry! Did I break your concentration?" She laughed.

"You worthless lump of flesh! You will regret that!"

"Come get some you nutcase!" Yang taunted.

Instantly, Gate zipped over to Yang, his scientist coat flapping from the speed. Once in front of her, Gate began pummelling her with successive hits. Yang tried to throw a counter punch but Gate grabbed her am and spun around with her in his grasp. Releasing his grip, Yang was thrown upwards, landing on a walkway next to an elevated assembly line.

"Yang!" Ruby called with concern.

Gate reappeared next to her as she groggily got back up, shaking her head to rid herself of the daze. Gate cracked his knuckles in anticipation.

"I'm fine! You find some way to get Penny back! I'll deal with Gate!"

"What?" Ruby asked, baffled.

Yang ducked under another punch from Gate and socked him underneath his chin, giving her a moment to speak to Ruby again.

"Ruby, listen! Penny's not just a robot, she has a spirit, a soul, whatever you want to call it! She's still in there, Ruby! Find her! You were her best friend, you can break her free of Gate's control!"

With that, Yang sprinted off, Gate following after her and allowing Ruby to face her friend one on one. Penny twirled two blades in her hand, the others floating around her mimicked the action, spinning in the air. Ruby approached Penny cautiously.

"Penny?" She timidly called. "Penny, can you hear me?"

Penny looked at Ruby, her eyes scanning all over her, looking through her memory banks to find out who this girl was. Ruby suddenly felt the grasp of Penny's hand against her throat. She kicked the air as Penny lifted her off the ground, watching Ruby's expression as she did so.

"I...am... Penny." She said in a monotonous and slow voice. "You... know... my name. How... do you... know... me?"

"*Ngh!* Come on... Penny!" Ruby struggled to get the words out. "You know... who I am! I'm your friend... please... try to remember!"

"Your friend... you say?" Penny thought.

Then, as suddenly as she had grabbed her, Penny dropped Ruby. The Huntress fell to her knee's panting to regain her breath after having it choked out of her. Looking up, she saw Penny holding both hands over her face, groaning and shaking her head as if fighting something.

Pulling her hands away, Penny revealed a sharp toothed grin. She held a blade overhead to strike down at where Ruby was.

"I know not of what you speak of. My memory banks show you as an enemy, Ruby Rose. An enemy I will destroy in the name of Mistress Xandria!"

Penny swung down and smashed her blade into the ground, it sparked as Ruby leapt backwards and got back up. Ruby looked at the scythe in her hand, then back to Penny with a determined look on her face.

"I don't believe you. I can feel your aura, Penny. I can feel the struggle within you. I don't know what I'm talking to right now but I'm gonna make a deal with you. Bring back my friend, if you know what's good for you!"

 _ **(Insert music: Xenoblade Chronicles OST – One Who Gets In Our Way)**_

"GRRR! WILL YOU JUST HOLD STILL?"

Yang was getting enraged as every time she thought she landed a hit on Gate, she would only see her fist pass through a trail in his image, such was the speed of Gate with the power of the Silver Eyes. Panting for breath, Gate was simply observing her technique.

"Amazing, isn't it? Your little sister wasn't even aware of this power until she heard of it from Sigma. Imagine what I, someone who truly understands the destructive capability of this power, could do!"

Yang's eyes suddenly blazed red and her hair was engulfed in fire, the heat creating a haze all around her. Gate had made her angry, and that was a big mistake.

Crossing both arms over her chest, Yang conjured forth flames onto her gauntlets, letting them dance and whirl around her fingertips. Throwing both arms forward, a wave of flame shot forward, engulfing an area too fast for Gate to dodge. He was forced to bring a shield up, drawing power from himself. Though it was only a small amount, Yang had shown he could be damaged, putting a dent in his boastfulness.

"Understanding is only part of what it takes, Gate. My sister was born with that power, it's a part of her, and she knows it in a way your science and data never will. Giving you the power of the Silver Eyes is like giving a machine gun to a kid! They may know what it does, but they won't be able to control it or use it well!"

"Do you honestly think so little of me, Xiao Long?" Gate rhetorically asked.

Yang gave him a look that said 'Really?'

"I think you know the answer to that. I'd say what I think of you, but Ruby is still in earshot and some readers may be too young to be reading those words."

Gate ignored Yang's obliteration of the fourth wall and instead gestured for her to attack him. She obliged his request and fired a barrage of flame shots towards him. Gate threw an arm upwards in front of himself and a wall of purple energy appeared in front of him. Each shot that hit it detonated on impact, leaving the scientist untouched. Gate then threw the barrier towards Yang as she reloaded.

Punching her fists together, Yang brought both arms back to prepare. She punched forward with both arms just as the energy wall reached her position. The wave tried to carry on, Yang straining under the intensity of the force it produced. It was a case of unstoppable force vs immovable object.

"GRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!"

Yang pushed back with all her might. The energy wall began to crack and buckle under her strength. With one final effort, she pushed forward and the wall shattered into nothingness. She wiped the sweat from her brow and and dusted off her hands.

"Give me a challenge at least!" She laughed.

In response, Gate charged towards Yang, she began firing on him with fire shots again. This time, Gate fired a projectile from each hand. The first soared over Yang's head and landed on the ceiling, leaving a large purple coloured circle of energy upon it. As the shots reached Gate, he leapt up and fired another shot at the ground beneath his feet. Instantly, he disappeared into the shot he had placed on the floor, letting Yang's shots fly past him harmlessly.

"What the- OOF!"

Yang felt the crushing power of Gate's foot against her face as he appeared from the circle above her and attacked her by surprise. As she was turned away by the force of the kick, Gate grabbed her and threw the Huntress over his shoulders, letting her land with a crash on the catwalk. Gate trued to stomp her head but Yang fired Ember Celica to propel herself away just in time.

"My own design." Gate explained. "Utilises miniature black holes to create rips in space. Just have to align the configurations and, boom! Short range portal creation. Observe!"

The portal that was on the floor disappeared and Gate fired it again, this time directly under Yang. She gave a small yelp as she found herself falling, only to land right in front of Gate who threw a massive punch at her. Disoriented, Yang took the full brunt of the attack, skidding along the catwalk, which buckled and creaked under the strain.

Gate ran at her again to continue his offensive. He spun kicked Yang twice then placed a portal behind Yang on the floor and the other in front of her. He shoved her into the first one, letting Yang tumble and pop back up through the other one. He then removed the portal she had just come out of and smashed her back down into the metal grating.

He still wasn't done yet. Gate placed a portal above and beneath Yang, letting her fall constantly, ever gaining speed until she was near terminal velocity., a blur to the eye. At full speed, Gate timed his next portal shot precisely. Placing it on the wall, Yang was flung towards him at ridiculous speed. Gate simply held out his foot as Yang crashed into him, back first. Her eyes widened as she was bent backwards by the sudden obstacle in her way.

"I grow tired of this!" Gate proclaimed.

Tossing Yang upwards, he placed a portal beneath her and one on the ceiling to the side of the catwalk, just above where Ruby and Penny were. Yang fell through it and dropped like a stone towards the lower level. Gate leapt over the edge of the catwalk to join her and finish both girls off.

 _ **(Insert music: KH2.5 OST – The Other Promise)**_

"WAAAH!" Ruby squealed as she tumbled across the room.

Stabbing the back of her scythe into the floor to help pull herself up, she saw Penny continuing to advance on her. Her robotic friend had been pummelling her relentlessly, but Ruby refused to fight back. The real Penny was in there somewhere, she just had to find her.

A body landed on the ground further across the room, a cloud of dust being thrown up as it landed. When the dust cleared, Ruby saw her older sister straining to get back up before Gate landed beside her and brought his foot down on top of her back.

"Yang! No!"

Ruby tried to run over and help but was punched in the face by Penny. Once off her feet, ruby felt the cables of Penny's swords wrap around her. Like a ball on a string, she was whirled around until Penny released her grip and sent Ruby smashing downwards.

"Let me take care of your sister, Ruby. It's not polite to keep your friend waiting like that." Gate laughed.

"Penny... please..." Ruby whimpered as Penny prepared to attack again.

Leaping towards Ruby, Penny front flipped through the air with her blades surrounding her. Though she hopped backwards to dodge, the spinning swords still caught her front and began tearing away at her aura with each successive hit.

Penny then brought the blades along each of her arms, four connecting together on each arm to make longer weapons. She began slashing away at Ruby with fast attacks woven together into combos. Ruby gasped in pain at each one, but she did not retaliate.

Following this, Penny backed off and used her boosters on the ends of her weapons to zip around the arena. She was clearly expecting a counter attack and, though only slightly, it confused her to see the enemy not even try to attack her.

"Why do you not fight back?" Penny asked.

Dashing back up to Ruby, the robotic girl swung her blades at seemingly nothing, freezing in place for a moment. In a flash, several dozen slashes came from seemingly nothing and made Ruby take heavy damage. Taking a step back, Penny fired two of her sword blasters at Ruby, who simply let herself fall down before struggling to stand again.

"Puff*...*Wheeze*... I don't fight back... because... you're my friend... Penny." Ruby barely managed to say.

"You're lying!" Penny shouted back. "I don't know you, I've never known you! The only reason I acknowledge your existence is because Gate told me you are the enemy!"

Ruby leaned on her scythe, her legs trembling under her weight as she was near exhausted.

"I won't give up on you Penny. Look inside yourself, you remember me! You remember Yang and all our friends! You remember who you are, I know it!"

For a split second, Penny looked at Ruby with pity, an unexpected response and she knew it. She then looked at her hands, opening and closing them, deep in thought. This girl was determined to make Penny believe that she was her friend. Of course, that was impossible, Penny had no memory of her at all. So why did it feel like she was telling the truth?

Penny clenched her fists shut, her arms shaking.

"Stop... LYING! RRRRAAAAGGGGHHHH!"

Penny embedded her swords in the ground, the cables stretching up to her back. They then began to spark with power, drawing it from all across the factory and brining it into her body. Penny's arms sparked and glowed with green energy. Crossing her arms over and aiming them at Ruby, Penny fired large orbs of energy at Ruby, each exploding as they hit her and doing massive amounts of damage to what was left of Ruby's aura.

Slowly, with resistance, Ruby fell to her knees. She tried to keep herself up, her form wobbling before finally giving out and falling forward, unable to keep going.

"Hahaha! Marvellous work Penny!" Gate applauded as Penny looked on. "Now, kill her."

"No! GAGH!" Yang tried to stop Penny but Gate pressed his foot down harder, ensuring she would be unable to move.

"Shut it, hot head! Go ahead Penny."

Penny's heels clacked as she walked over to Ruby. One of her blades was brought towards her hand and held ready to stab Ruby and end her with one decisive blow. Finally reaching her, Penny knelt down and held the blade in both hands, ready to strike. She raised it above her head, all she had to do was thrust her arms down ad Ruby would be no more. Then she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

Ruby's satchel that she kept on the side of her belt had been blown open in the fight, little pieces of it scattered and smouldering. What had come out though is what caught Penny's eye. Reaching down, Penny picked up the object that drew her attention away from her orders.

A bright pink hair bow.

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman 4 Intro On Piano by Bcutter)**_

As soon as she looked at it, Penny started to see flashes in her mind. She had seen this bow before!

The first few images were of Ruby and her sister. There was no sound to accompany the images but they seemed to be talking to her and smiling as they did so. She saw herself pushing Ruby out of the way of an oncoming vehicle. Another flash and she was looking at her hands, seeing the robotic components underneath, until Ruby gently closed them and smiled at her again.

The next series of images were at a building she recognised, but for the life of her could not remember the name of. She saw Ruby and Yang with other people. A girl dressed in black with a bow on top of her head, a prim and proper girl in a white dress with a ponytail. There was one girl in Spartan armour and a boy in knight like armour who seemed to be very close. She also saw a hyper ginger girl and a boy in traditional green Chinese clothing. They all seemed happy to see her, especially Ruby.

The next memory saw them at some kind of dance. Some of her friends were doing a group dance in the centre, surrounded by cheering spectators. The others were simply enjoying themselves, Penny included as she danced with an Atlesian soldier.

A final flash saw her looking down at the bow before she raised it up and placed it in her hair. Her memory then showed her looking in a mirror, admiring it, and letting Penny see who she was before all this. The memories she though she never had.

Coming back to reality, Penny clenched the bow tightly as she let her arm drop back down to her side.

"Did you not hear me Penny? I said to kill her!" Gate repeated.

"You... you lied to me." Penny said.

"Excuse me?"

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman X8 OST – Angry Boss)**_

"YOU LIED TO ME!" Penny screamed as she threw four of her blades at Gate.

Each blade hit either his hand of leg, pinning the scientist against the wall. He strained to get them off but Penny commanded the cables attached to the blades to entangle themselves around Gate as well, ensuring he could not move.

"You told me they were my enemies! That they had destroyed the world I tried to protect! You told me that defeating them would bring peace to the world! All of it was lies!"

Gate was panicking now, his veil of lies that kept Penny under his control had been torn apart. Frantically, he tried to think of a solution.

"Override code: Nightmare!" He shouted out.

Penny suddenly felt her systems begin to shut down one by one as she struggled to keep moving.

 _ **OVERRIDE CODE ACCEPTED. COMMENCING EMERGENCY SHUT DOWN PROCEDURE.**_

"Don't think that will stop me!" Penny proclaimed.

As she continued to shuffle towards Gate, several beeps could be heard from within her body. Gate was unsure of what she was doing, until the same voice announced Penny's intentions to all those present.

 _ **SELF DESTRUCT PROTOCOL INITIATED. UNIT HAS BEEN LOCKED DOWN TO PREVENT DEACTIVATION OF ALL PROTOCOLS. DESTRUCTION IN 30 SECONDS.**_

Penny fired out the rest of her blades and embedded them in the wall next to Gate. Pulling herself over to him, she awaited the self destruct to begin, taking a strange joy in seeing the scientist so terrified.

"You idiot! You realise that you will die to because of this!"

Penny gave a small sigh.

"Maybe so, but I would rather die than let myself live on as your puppet! I will not be used as an instrument of destruction any longer! I will not let you use me to harm my friends!"

 _ **5...**_

 _ **4...**_

 _ **3...**_

 _ **2...**_

 _ **1...**_

Ruby was just recovering and managed to raise her head just as the countdown was reaching zero. She saw Penny and Gate far away from both herself and Yang. She was obviously confused until...

 ***KABOOM!***

A cloud of flame and debris engulfed Penny and Gate as the room shook from the force of the explosion. Ruby gasped as she realised what had just happened.

"PENNY!" She screamed.

Fighting through the pain, she got up and ran over to where her friend had stood as fast as she could. As she was about to reach the smoking crater, she felt herself being grabbed by Yang.

"Let me go! I need to-"

"RUBY!" Yang barked, getting Ruby's attention before her voice went low and sad. "She's gone."

Ceasing her struggle against her sister, Ruby gently moved Yang's arms away as she walked onwards. The smoke started to clear, revealing little left of either Gate or Penny. Just a few scraps of charred metal and the burning fabric of Gate's lab coat.

Looking around, she saw the pink bow she held so dearly. It was charred to the point where half of it was burnt away. Ruby held it up to her face and softly cried into it. Yang just stayed back, rubbing her arm, unsure of what to do or say to try and comfort her sister.

As she sobbed however, Ruby felt her scroll buzzing and a rhythmic noise coming from it.

 **BEEP...BEEP...BEEP...**

She slowly took it out and looked on the screen. It was a distress signal, much like the one they had all received from Team CFVY when Zero arrived. The strange thing was, it was coming from very close to Ruby's position.

"I'm getting it too!" Yang said.

Without a moments hesitation, Ruby began looking around, fumbling her way through the burned wreckage of both robots. Finally, the beeping became a single, constant monotone as Ruby placed her hands on something. Picking the object up, she opened her hand and looked upon a small gold coloured chip.

"Yang? What is this thing?" Ruby asked.

Yang gently took it out of her hands and looked at it in the light. She was always a bit of a tech whiz was Yang, despite her silly behaviour making people think otherwise. Yang's eyes lit up as she realised what it was.

"Plug it into your scroll. It should fit in the extra drive slot."

Carefully, Ruby slid the object into her scroll. It made a small click as the chip was accepted by the onboard computer. Both girls then looked at the screen, Ruby with confusion still reigning and Yang with barely contained joy. The screen flashed on and a familiar figure appeared on it.

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman X Command Mission OST – Apprehensive Cinnamon)**_

"Penny!" Ruby squealed with joy.

Sure enough, a hologram of Penny appeared, wearing her original outfit with the pink bow still intact. She held both ears after Ruby called her.

"There is no need to shout." She laughed. "Your phone speaker is sensitive enough."

"Oh, sorry!" Ruby giggled. "Are you alright?"

"Technically speaking, yes. The object that was sending out a distress signal is my central control chip. As long as that remains intact, I can be rebuilt into any body that is given to me. That's how Gate was able to reconstruct me despite my defeat at Beacon."

Yang scratched her head nervously. "Yeah... about that. You know the guy who destroyed your old body?"

Penny nodded.

"Well... long story short, he's on our side now."

Penny fell silent and the girls were unsure of what she would do. A moment later however, she leapt up cheering.

"Joy of joys! You have made what was once an enemy into another friend! I must meet him post haste!"

Ruby wiped away a tear of joy as she placed her scroll on her belt, keeping it on so that Penny was still present. Penny herself altered the scrolls projection system, making it so that she could sit atop Ruby's shoulder.

"Come on Yang." Ruby sighed with relief. "We've still got work to do!"

"I shall assist you however I can, friend Ruby!" Penny proclaimed with a finger pointed ot the sky.

"*Giggle* Thanks Penny. I'll explain everything on the way, right now we have to get back to the others."

 _ **YAY! PENNY IS BACK!**_

 _ **The rematches will soon be done, we just have Xevach and of course, the one everyone's been looking forward to: Sigma!**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	58. The Maverick's Last Stand

_**Gravenimage: Sweet, you caught the reference to X2 in the dialogue then? I was always gonna bring her back, how could I leave such adorableness dead?**_

 _ **Grimlock987: More transformers requests huh? I've never been big into it but I'll see what I can do.**_

 _ **SmashHero75: Has she? *Counts fingers* 1...2... She's died one less if you include the zero series.**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: Ladies and Gentlemen, this Gate is now closed! (My puns are the worst I can assure you!)**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Soft like a teddy bear! Well, thing is that X, Zero and Axl shouldn't NEED to retire from warfare. Each time they fought it was with the hope and promise that it would be their last battle and they could live in peace.**_

 _ **And as you have all been pointing out, the ultimate rematch is upon us! It's time for Zero vs Sigma.**_

 _ **Ladies and Gentlemen...**_

 _ **LLLLLLLLET'S GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**_

The bright light of Remnant's broken moon shone down where Zero stood. The stars in the night sky above him glistened and twinkled, giving a breathtaking backdrop for any event taking place.

It was such a shame the circumstances weren't different, else he would be enjoying the setting a lot more.

Zero stood atop a tall tower, slightly smaller than the central tower and located to it's West side. Looking at it, Zero could see the panels of Eleos fully unfurled, energy pumping through them in golden streaks, as though supernatural powers themselves were helping activate the doomsday device.

The tower had no walls to prevent someone falling off, only a ring of large, broken pillars, like those found in ancient buildings. In the centre, where Zero was watching, sat a plain and silver throne. It belonged to the last minion of Xandria, the one that Zero hated with every fibre of his being.

Sigma.

The throne he sat upon did not face Zero, instead it looked out at the central tower so Sigma had his back to the legendary Reploid. From his position, Zero could see Sigma was sitting with one leg resting atop the other, one arm relaxed on the chair arm and the other against his cheek. He was relaxed, enjoying the sight before him, the sight of the world's doom.

Zero didn't need to approach, he knew full well that Sigma was aware of his presence. He was also aware of the weight this encounter held for both of them. It was a moment they had both been preparing for, after all these years, this would be the last time they met on the battlefield.

"Ah, Zero. Who could've imagined we'd cross paths at the end of the world?"

"Given how often you tried your schemes, I can't say it's a surprise!" Zero retorted.

"I'm impressed you made it all the way up here, you truly are among the greatest and most powerful Reploids to ever exist, Zero. Alongside X and Axl, you may well be the greatest warrior ever to roam the earth."

"Keep your praise, Sigma, I don't need to hear it from the likes of you." Zero responded. "Besides, I didn't make it here alone. The humans that you so often look down on, they've destroyed your forces and brought the battle to your own front door."

"Their power comes from X's DNA, it is all the more proof of the strength of Reploids. It is the same strength that I could have brought to fruition all those years ago, during Eurasia."

Zero winced slightly at the mention of that event.

"You really like digging up the past, don't you?"

"I sought to awaken you, Zero. I tried to release your true self, what you were created to be, and show you the true power of Reploids. I wanted to purify this world then, and I shall still do so now!"

Sigma arose from the throne and moved around to face Zero, his black and green data body illuminating the arena somewhat, leaving a pulsing green light instead of shadows on the floor.

"So! It has come down to this. Our final duel is at hand, Zero. I will show you a glimpse of the future that awaits this world, and in the process, wipe you from existence!"

Zero placed two hands on his sabre, as Sigma summoned his blade.

"You... How many lives have you cost in your insane crusade against humanity? How many Hunter's have died by your hand? How many innocents?! The General, Colonel, Iris and so many more! As a Maverick Hunter, it's my duty to bring you to justice. But as a friend to those you've slain, as a hero to those you've terrorised, it's my mission to seek vengeance for them!"

Zero twirled his sabre in his hand with ease and got into his regular one handed battle stance, with his buster cannon primed to fire in the other.

"Let's end this, Sigma!"

 _ **(Insert music: Sonic 2006 OST – Mephiles Phase 1)**_

Extending his hand outwards, Sigma fired his opening shots. Flaming projectiles were sent out from each of his fingers, bouncing off every surface they came into contact with, making them move around in random patterns towards Zero.

The first two shots were slashed out of the air with the Z-Sabre, vanishing in small explosions of released energy. Three more dove down towards Zero's position, each aiming further back than the previous one. Zero leapt against a pillar and allowed the first two to smash against the floor. Another aimed for him while on the pillar, forcing Zero to leap off it. Zero could feel the heat and power radiating off the shot as he barely managed to keep himself above it while it passed underneath him.

Landing back down, Zero let out a quiet sigh of relief. A split second later, he brought his sabre up just in time to block a two handed strike from Sigma. Sigma leaned into the attack, a demented grin on his face as he pushed Zero back. Thinking quickly, Zero deactivated his blade and rolled between Sigma's legs, getting straight back up and igniting it, ready to engage again.

Sigma slammed his blade down at Zero, breaking apart the earth around the tip of it and embedding his weapon in the ground. Zero hopped on top and ran up it, trying to land a strike on Sigma's head. Before he was able to however, Sigma caught hold of him and slammed Zero against the floor.

"Ah, this brings back memories of our first meeting, Zero." Sigma mocked, watching Zero pull himself free. "And we all know how that worked out, don't we?"

Pulling his head out of the ground, Zero flipped over and kicked off the floor with two pieces of rubble in his hands. He threw them with all his might at the giant foe. They were easily blocked by Sigma's armour, crumbling as soon as they made contact.

"KUUENBU!"

Zero ignited his blade and performed a rolling slash. Dashing backwards, Sigma let the blade hit the floor, causing no harm to himself and letting him chuckle lightly at the futile attempt. His laughter stopped however, when he saw Zero laughing too.

Zero jumped up and performed a Kuuenbu again, but instead of stopping as soon as he hit the floor, Zero fired his dash boosters at maximum power. This gave him enough momentum to ensure he did not hit the floor. Much to Sigma's surprise, the rolling slash continued, the Z-sabre leaving light gashes in the floor as the spinning blade became a green blur a little red at it's centre.

With a quick change of direction in his dash, Zero's spinning form raced towards Sigma, who had barely enough time to defend. He held his Sigma blade horizontally, one hand gripping the handle tightly, and the other placed behind the blade to prevent it being pushed back. Sparks flew as soon as the two made contact, with Sigma actually straining to hold back against the force of the attack, his knee's bent and straining.

"That's enough!" Sigma declared.

In a flash, he swung his blade, a visible white line showing his attack right across the spinning Zero. A bright light flashed as the two attacks made contact and Zero was forced to cease his attack, landing back down without a scratch. Sigma dashed past Zero and performed the same attack again. Zero held up his arms to block as several hundred small slashes hit him in quick succession, they left small marks on his paint job but little else.

"An interesting technique, Zero. Where did you learn it?" Sigma asked, sounding slightly impressed.

 _ **Flashback – Beacon Academy**_

Zero leaned back against the wall of Team RWBY's room, arms folded and one foot against the wall as he watched on. In front of him, Yang was pressing buttons on a controller furiously, her tongue sticking out from one side of her mouth as she focused on the game. Looking at the screen, Zero saw her character, a small blue animal who seemed to be running ridiculously fast. There was also the fact that he was blue and wore shoes!

"So... you're playing as... a hedgehog." Zero began.

"Yup!" Yang replied, not taking her eyes off the game.

"He runs at the speed of sound and blows up robots in one hit by curling into a ball and jumping on them."

"Unless it's a mini boss or boss fight, yeah."

It was bizarre but Zero had to admit, the game looked pretty fun, even if it was quite old looking. As he watched, the hedgehog curled up into a ball and began spinning on the spot, he then took off at top speed, destroying any robots in his way.

"What did you just do?"

"Oh that? That's a spin dash! Really useful for getting up to speed, or taking out rows of targets."

"Hmmm... I see."

Yang started to laugh. "Hey! Wouldn't it be sweet if you could do that? Ha ha!"

She didn't see Zero doing some very complex calculations in his processor when he heard her say that.

 _ **End Flashback**_

"Just a little trick I learned from a friend." Zero answered.

"Hmmph, such poultry human skills will not fell the likes of me, Zero!"

Zero flicked his neck from side to side, as if to crack it. Of course that wasn't possible given he was a Reploid, but it was another thing he had picked up from Yang, since she did it so often in training.

"Funny, that's the same boast I've heard so often before! HIYAH!"

Leaping forward, Zero slammed down at Sigma with his sabre, the two blades made contact and released a brilliant light as they did so, such was the power of the legendary weapons being wielded. Pushing back, Sigma threw Zero off him, causing Zero to soar through the air.

Activating his Z buster, Zero loaded some blue dust into the cannon and fired three icy shots at Sigma. Landing back again, he threw his sabre forward, the weapon spinning and becoming like a saw blade of plasma, before Zero dashed after it.

Sigma swung his weapon wide, slashing the first ice shot out of the air, the same with the second one, letting them evaporate into small snowflakes after being torn apart. The final shot came too soon after the last defensive swing however, hitting Sigma's legs and encasing them in ice, rendering him immobile.

"It's over!" Zero cried as he dashed closer, the Z-Sabre spinning just ahead of him.

Sigma swung his arm across his chest to hit Zero's sabre back. It clanged off his form and spun randomly in the air before Zero leapt up to catch it. Doing so successfully, he swung at Sigma's head, though the villain ducked under it. Slamming down with the blade, Sigma leaned back so the sabre did not hit him, but instead broke his icy prison, allowing freedom of movement once more.

Sigma slammed his blade on the ground again, as Zero dodged and stood atop it as he had done at the start of the fight. Jumping off it, he moved over Sigma's form, slashing at his head as he did so. Sigma held his blade overhead to block each strike, following up with a 360 degree spin to counter after Zero's attempt.

A quick back step from Zero let the blade just pass by his chest, almost making contact with it. Using his superior mobility again, Zero jumped over Sigma again, stabbing his sabre downwards to try and impale the Maverick leader, head first! Sigma zipped backwards, leaving a trail of shadowy clones behind him.

"Time for a lesson!" Sigma declared.

His blade began glowing ever brighter with it's data green colour, almost blinding in nature. Sigma slashed the sword horizontally and a wave of plasma was cast out in the same shape and size as the swing arc, zoomed towards Zero. Zero stood perfectly still as the attack reached him. In a millisecond, Zero swung his sabre up and held it above his head. The plasma wave split perfectly down the middle and the two sides exploded behind him.

Undeterred, Sigma held out his arm and began firing rapid, yet powerful buster shots at Zero. In this arena, there were no real large walls to climb, only a few pillars that would allow for single wall jumps. With no other option, Zero began dashing away from Sigma, the shots impacting on the pillars or flying off into the night sky.

"Running won't help!" Sigma laughed.

He teleported directly in front of Zero. Catching him in his grasp, Sigma gave an evil smile to Zero's face just before flinging him against a pillar on the opposite side, like he was a rag doll. The pillar crumbled and half buried a dazed Zero. Taking advantage, Sigma charged up a wave of energy, his hand glowing and shaking with power

"DIE!" Sigma screamed.

A thin beam shot out from Sigma's hand, emitting a loud buzz as it did so. Impacting against the pile for a few seconds, the noise subsided, followed by a tremendous explosion that sent a shock wave rippling from the epicentre of the tower. The very foundations of the building trembled and shook, slowly subsiding as Sigma observed the remains. The rubble had been destroyed, only a large, smoking crater remained, carved out of the edge of the building.

"Such as brave effort, Maverick Hunter but, ultimately futile." Sigma said to himself.

"Well, I'd hate to disappoint you!"

Looking over his shoulder, Sigma saw Zero sitting atop one of the pillars behind him, arm rested on one knee with the other leg hanging in the air. He jumped down and cracked his knuckles.

"Guess I'll have to try a little harder this time!"

Sigma slid his weapon across the ground, bringing up sparks and shards of concrete in an effort to blind Zero to his strike. It proved pointless as Zero blocked and kicked Sigma backwards. Throwing the weight of his blade downwards, Sigma swung overhead, which Zero easily jumped over, landing behind Sigma. Another two slow, powerful swings came in succession, both missing their target as Zero stepped back from each one.

He then tried a wide swing, but Zero dashed underneath the attack and tried to stab Sigma from behind. Sigma turned in time and both sabres clashed again, their edges crackling as the plasma edges reacted to each other. Breaking off, Zero made his move.

As Sigma moved his arm back to strike again, Zero grabbed hold of the wrist Sigma held his blade in, holding it back and preventing the attack. With his body exposed, Zero jumped up and kicked Sigma in the face with great strength, making him turn away and allowing Zero an opening. He landed facing away from Sigma, quickly turning his blade around to hold it in a backhand style, Zero thrust the blade behind him.

 ***SCHING!** *

Sigma looked down slowly at the glowing green blade that had pierced his chest. It sparked rapidly as the metal it had gone through was melted away. Zero withdrew the blade, leaving a glowing hot hole in Sigma's body, before slamming his fist into him and knocking his long time adversary onto his back.

With his body severely damaged, Sigma found himself barely able to move. Zero pointed the tip of his sabre at Sigma's head, the green glow illuminating his face as the weapon hummed idly.

"Still disappointed?" Zero asked sarcastically.

"Hahahaha! Hardly. I should have known you would be able to defeat such a simple form as this. In fact, I was counting on it!"

 _ **(Insert music: Maverick Hunter X OST – Sigma Transforms)**_

From the top of Sigma's throne, a small compartment opened and a metal tentacle with claws shot out and latched onto Sigma's head. It began pulling at his head, making Zero cringe as the wires on the neck snapped one by one. With the final wire breaking, the head was lifted high, as if being shown off to Zero. The claw then retracted at high speed, embedding Sigma's head in the throne.

Zero tried to give chase, tried to finish off Sigma before he could do any more harm but he stumbled as the ground shook beneath his feet. The whole structure was filled with a deafening rumble as the throne began to sink into the centre of the tower. The effect continued for several moments, along with the clanging of machinery from underneath the floor Zero stood upon.

Then, a gigantic, robotic hand appeared from over the side of the building and slammed down on the top of the tower, grasping onto it to try and pull the rest of the body up. The metal was similar to Sigma's original black armour, but the glowing green data numbers were replaced with various veins along the armour, each filled with a magma like liquid that boiled a bubbled. Even from within the veins, the heat was intense enough to make a heat haze, not to mention some small droplets running down and dripping onto the ground.

After the hands, the body was raised upwards. It carried the same materials as the hands, but as it got lower, it seemed to invert itself. That is to say, the black armour with a few veins of magma gradually shifted until the whole lower torso was made of magma, with a few pieces of black metal floating within. No legs were present, instead the torso merged with the tower, clearly drawing power from it.

Moving upwards, the black armour covering pointed out into two sharp shoulder guards. Each was several feet long and curved upwards into misshapen forms, similar to tree branches in a dead forest. In the centre, was the head, lower than the shoulder guards but the lack of height did little to lessen the terror it sparked.

Sigma's face was clearly visible within it, but his features were made up of burning magma. One half of his face was recognisable in shape, but the other half consisted of melting features. A drooping mouth and one eye stretching right down along the right side of his face. From the top of his head, a bright fire burned, flickering and crackling in the night sky, sending embers up into the atmosphere.

"Gragh...gugh...urghyaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!"

Sigma groaned as his transformation was completed, letting out a roar to the heavens above as it finished. His whole body leaned back, creaking and cracking as he stretched out his new limbs before bending down to look at Zero with his new form, his back arched impossibly tight so that his head and both arms were near the tower.

" _I'VE BEEN WAITING A LONG TIME FOR THIS, ZERO! MY OLD METHODS REQUIRED YOU BEING ALIVE, OR AT LEAST ABLE TO BE REBUILT! WITH X IN OUR HANDS THOUGH, I HAVE NO NEED OF YOU! FINALLY, I'LL HAVE THE PLEASURE OF ERASING YOUR EXISTANCE FROM THIS WORLD, OUR NEW WORLD! FAREWELL!"_

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman X7 OST – Sigma 2nd)**_

Clasping his hands together, Sigma smashed the floor of on the top of the tower. Though it would have suited him to hit Zero, all he was aiming to do was destroy the ground Zero stood on, hopefully ending the battle quickly. The terrain started to crumble, pieces of the floor collapsing in on themselves from where Sigma had hit, the destruction expanding outwards from the epicentre.

Zero as not so easily bested though, he had another new trick up his sleeve. He had taught Weiss some thing, and she had done the same.

Quickly, Zero placed a blue dust crystal into his arm cannon but did not activate it. Instead, he charged up a buster shot, letting all the energy go to his fist. It began glowing blue with a wispy cold flame all around it. Zero raised the fist before punching the floor beneath him.

"Reitokuku!"

 _ **(Author's Note: My own move name, roughly translates to 'Frozen Kingdom'.)**_

A pulse of blue shot out along the ground from Zero's position, everything it touched was immediately frozen solid. Concrete, metal and tiles that had all been falling were frozen in mid fall. The ice continued to spread outwards, heading right down the tower through the interior, as well as crackling out along the walls.

A few icy pillars spouted upwards in front of Zero. Drawing his sabre, he cut three of them down. As they toppled, Zero kicked each one of them in quick succession at Sigma's head. Each one that hit made steam rise as they melted and the flame's around Sigma's head became weaker. Only momentarily though, as Sigma roared and the flames reignited at full strength.

Sigma threw a punch at Zero. With the ice as thick as it was now, he knew that he would be unable to destroy the tower, so crushing the red Reploid was his only option now. As the fist moved closer, Zero dashed underneath the arm and swung up and over the arm, landing on top of it and beginning his run to Sigma's head, the weakest spot.

The magma monster that was Sigma groaned angrily as he brought his other hand across to wipe Zero off his arm. The other hand clamped down on the arm, just as Zero managed to find a safe spot between Sigma's middle and index fingers. He shielded his eyes as the hand coming down produced red hot ash and embers all around.

Zero got his buster out and fired the ice dust again, making two icy spots on the hand. Steam hissed as the shot was swiftly melted but the cooled areas were enough for Zero to leap onto, one after the other, allowing him a way out of the trap he was in. He continued his run and made it near the top of Sigma's arm, when he saw the back of the hand swiping at him. It was too late to react and Zero felt a burning sensation as the hand briefly made contact with him, the feeling stopping as Zero found himself falling back to the tower floor. He rolled as he landed back on the ground, back at square one again, much to his annoyance.

Sigma clasped both hands against his chest, placing them on two parts of the black armour covering that kept the magma in place. The sound of metal wrenching and brittle materials snapping could be heard as Sigma tore them apart, revealing the magma core in his chest. Without the armour to keep it within, the unstable core began spurting out fiery rocks into the air. They glowed rather beautifully in the night sky before whistling as they came down to earth.

Zero dashed to the side as the first one landed near his position. Another was about to land on top of him, but a quick use of Raikousen made sure he was out of the way in the nick of time, as the lightning trail also destroyed three more rocks he passed through. Another group came down in a close cluster.

"Rasetsusen!" Zero cried.

Jumping and spinning in the air, each rock that landed on him was cut into tiny chunks that pattered on the ground around him. Stopping his attack, Zero stood still as a larger rock came towards him, several times larger than himself.

"Yodantotsu!"

Using his piercing strike, Zero embedded his blade in the side of the burning rock, almost as if he had caught it in mid air! Spinning a full 360 degrees, he flung the rock off the blade and straight back at the attacker. It went back into Sigma's chest, causing a small explosion in the core.

Small, but enough to do significant damage to the unstable power source. Sigma roared in pain as he let go of the armour coverings which pinged back into place, ceasing the rain of meteors, while the giant fell forward, one hand keeping him up as the other clutched the wound on his chest.

Zero moved his icy hand over the edge of his blade, taking great care not to touch it and damage himself, but still being close enough to freeze the blade with amazing properties of the dust. Man, how he wished this stuff existed back in the Maverick Wars. Without delaying another second, Zero dashed up to Sigma's face and slashed at it.

" _RRRRRAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!"_

Sigma shot back up, both hands clasping his face as the ice did great damage to his fiery form. Slowly pulling them down, Zero saw a massive frozen slash mark across the right side of his face, passing through one eye and extending right down to his mouth. Wisps of steam came out from the wound, along with crumbling rock as the cooled magma around the edge gave way.

" _YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, ZERO!"_

Sigma extended his arm over the top of the tower and began pumping hot magma out from the palm of his hand. It flowed down in a thick pile, like cement being poured from a mixer. The material cooled almost instantly, solidifying into a mound of sharp, black rocks. Straight after, Sigma brought his hand down upon it, making the rock into a shrapnel bomb as it's razor tipped pieces exploded everywhere. Zero turned away as he heard the pieces ping and bounce off his armour, leaving small dents in his armour, as well as some holes in his shoulder pads.

Conjuring forth more magma, Sigma let the cooled rock form in his hands, creating two long shards that he could use as blades. He dragged the first one across the floor of the tower, the sound was enough to make anyone flinch as the ice screeched and scraped. Zero dived out of the way of the first attempt, sliding along the floor. Sigma brought the same blade in for another attempt, but Zero was ready this time. Swinging his blade high, he chopped the rock sword off Sigma's palm. The article rolled along the ground before falling off the side of the tower, there to tumble to the base of Neo Arcadia, far below.

" _BURN!"_

Leaning down slightly, a burst of flame came from Sigma's mouth, bringing the temperature on the tower to near unbearable levels. Zero pointed his blade tip to the floor with the dust crystal active and cut a circle around himself. It did not break the ice as you would have thought though. Instead, it created more ice that shot straight up and surrounded Zero, giving him a shield that made him completely invulnerable to the flames. Unable to continue, Sigma stopped the attack and Zero cut his protective cover down to allow him to continue the battle.

Sigma now readied the other stalagmite like weapon in his opposite hand. Holding it straight above Zero's position, he stabbed downwards. The attack actually pierced the floor but failed to hit Zero. It did give Zero just the opening he was looking for though. As he pulled the blade back out, Sigma realised that the ice had already begun repairing itself, keeping his arm stuck to the tower, and giving Zero a free run up the arm again.

Zero hopped onto the back of Sigma's hand and began running up the arm again. Trying the same strategy as last time, Sigma swiped at Zero again, trying to brush him of his arm. Focusing the ice energy in his arm, Zero waited for the hand to come above him, only to unleash his tried and tested technique.

"Shoruken!"

The sound of crumbling rock filled the air as Zero made a gaping hole in Sigma's hand, having passed right through the palm and out the other side, while the hand was pulled back in pain and Zero carried on his way.

At long last, Sigma's head came into view, and Zero had his target. The jewel on Sigma's head, so prominent in all his forms, was no less so here. Though it bore the same magma like construction as the rest of the abomination, Zero knew it was the key to victory here now.

As he drew nearer to his goal, Sigma breathed another fire wave at the Hunter. Using Sigma's form against him, Zero began wall climbing one of the shoulder extension, leaving the sea of flames far below him as it shot down the shoulder. He then pushed himself off the makeshift wall and began falling towards Sigma's head. He held the blade downwards, aiming straight for the crystal. He was only a few seconds away from it and there was noting Sigma could do.

"This is for all those you've taken!" Zero declared.

A small crack was heard as the Z-Sabre tip pierced the covering of the crystal and embedded itself within. Magma began spurting out of the hole in Sigma's forehead as the beast roared in agony. Zero then pulled the blade back out and aimed his buster.

"For all those who have suffered!"

He fired a shot into the crystal that make Sigma's form recoil violently, screeching in distress and pain. Zero then looked at the glowing fist and prepared his final strike. Thinking about who had given him this skill, and all the others like her, Zero knew who this last blow was dedicated to.

"Most of all though, THIS IS FOR MY FRIENDS!"

Zero raised his fist to the sky, before bringing it down on the crystal with a furious shout.

"TENSHOUHA!"

Rock broke and from within, glass shattered. Sigma's form remained still for a moment until the sound of cracking came from below. Peering over the side, Zero saw that Sigma's magma body was cooling down and crumbling into dust, starting from the bottom and working up towards his head. Zero dash jumped off Sigma's head and landed back down on the tower top, watching his adversary's demise.

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman ZX Tunes: Babel Tower)**_

Sigma's body fell down low again, both his hands being used to simply hold him upright. Zero looked Sigma in the yes, and saw that he was... smiling?

" _HMHMHMHMMMM!"_ Sigma laughed weakly. _"It seems I have lost to you again, Zero."_

"That's right, as usual. This time will be different though. There is no Sigma virus for you to infect others with. Once I destroy you, your reign will be over. I'll finally be rid of you, and so will this world."

" _HAHAHAHA! We're it only that easy!"_ Sigma chuckled, electing a soft gap from Zero.

" _How many times have you thought me dead and gone, huh Zero? Every time you defeated me, I came back and brought death and destruction wherever I went. Even here, thousands of years since our last meeting, I still returned. Don't you see? I don't need the virus, I don't even need a new body, I've achieved my goal."_

Sigma nearly fell over the side of the building, his claws digging in just enough to hold on until he finished his piece.

" _I made a vow, back when this all began, that I would defeat you some day. Even if this is my final destruction, that vow remains, it will linger in this world long after I am gone. For you see Zero, I will always haunt you, I will always come back and, someday, find a way to defeat you."_

As his grip loosened from exhaustion and his body became completely dry and brittle, Sigma leaned forward, as close to Zero as he possibly could be, and said his final words.

" _I will never, be just a memory!"_

Zero grit his teeth and slashed his sabre across Sigma's arm, removing his hand from the rest of his body. Sigma slid off the side and tumbled to the base of the tower below. Zero peered over the edge and watched as Sigma's body crumbled to dust as soon as hit the ground. Holstering the blade in his back, Zero let out a sigh of relief and walked away silently.

As he reached the teleporter, he took one last look over his shoulder. He wasn't sure of it, but he thought he heard something on the wind. Shaking it off, he entered the light and disappeared back to the central hub area.

As the dust finally settled on the battlefield, save for a few collapsing piles of rubble, Sigma's destroyed form lay at the bottom of the tower. Dead, lifeless, utterly ruined and incapable of causing any harm at all. Zero had left, assured there was no threat.

But the laughter in the air begged to differ.

" _MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

 _ **Chapter done! Hope you guys enjoyed it and sorry if it took longer than usual, car tax and insurance is a bitch to handle!**_

 _ **So, Sigma is finally gone, we hope! That just leaves Jaune before the main battle with Xandria. The end draws ever nearer and I'm getting emotional just thinking I'm near done with this story!**_

 _ **But let's enjoy the rest while it lasts, shall we gang?**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	59. Knight's Honour

_**Here we are again! Now it's time for Jaune and Pyrrha's little journey to be concluded. This is the last of the smaller fights before the grand finale of this whole story! I think that is why I've been slower writing recently, I really don't want this story to end. It has been a labour of love! But the end is not here yet, so I shall continue on!**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Actually, if you look really far back, it is strongly hinted that Wily made the Maverick Virus. Why did he make it? To best Dr Light! It's crazy to think that everything that has happened in this story and in canon may have resulted from a simple bit of jealousy! Also, I'm more than up for a sequel!**_

 _ **R98: The fun is in not knowing, isn't it?**_

 _ **Levi Xavier:CURSES! FOILED AGAIN!**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: Don't worry! I locked the X6 writers in the basement!**_

 _ **SmashHero75: Maybe I can write that as an extra chapter at the end! I don't blame you, I saw the trailer and I am so hyped for it!**_

 _ **Gundam-Knight-Chris: *Sings* AND ANOTHER ONE GONE AND ANOTHER ONE GONE!**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: Well said sir! It's another reason why I love X8, it actually had the guts to kill off Sigma. What was amazing though, is the truth he spoke about influence after death. Take the real world villains such as Hitler, Genghis Khan etc. They all died but their legacy of terror lives on!**_

 _ **Also, wow that is a bad ass armour! I do believe I shall use it, but maybe not for what your thinking!**_

 _ **Onwards!**_

 _ **(Neo Arcadia Medical Facility)**_

As the double doors that led to the facility hissed open automatically, Jaune ran in with his weapons drawn, obviously expecting a fight this close to the centre of Neo Arcadia. What he found, made him pleasantly surprised.

He found himself standing in crisp, white tunnel. It was constructed from some kind of smooth yet durable material that gleamed brightly, like it had been polished since it's installation. This material and colour scheme made up the floor and several supporting pillars. The walls of the tunnel, were made of glass that curved over the top from one side of the tunnel to the other, allowing Jaune to see the entire complex. The entire complex was surrounded by the other buildings in the city. The tunnel he was in was one of many, extending from a section of the city towards a large central tower that reached high into the night sky.

"Well this is impressive!" He smiled. The Neo Arcadians may be their enemy but he couldn't help but marvel at their technology and architecture.

Taking a few steps forward, Jaune near jumped out of his skin as a small 'BING BONG' noise was heard. It was followed by a soothing female voice.

" _Welcome to the Neo Arcadian Central Medical Facility, visitor. Please wait while your transport is summoned to your position."_

"Transport?" Jaune wondered aloud.

He then heard a high pitched humming noise approaching him. Looking behind him, Jaune saw a white pad hovering towards him with a blue glow underneath it. The pad also had a circular hand rail encompassing most of it, save for the back to allow him access. Cautiously, he stepped onto the device.

" _Please select your destination."_

Jaune looked at the map on the transport and found the facility was more complex than he thought. A&E, Screening, Anaesthetics, Chaplaincy, Discharge, the whole place was a maze!

" _Please select a destination."_ The voice repeated.

"Ugh." Jaune groaned. "I would but I don't know where I'm going!"

" _Here at Neo Arcadia, we know that seeing your loved ones who are staying with us is your top priority. If you are unsure which department a patient is in, I can scan the patient name list to find the correct destination."_

"Well... that's handy! Can you do that now? Please?"

" _Please say patient name now."_ The machine prompted.

"Pyrrha Nikos." Jaune replied.

A few beeps were heard as the database was scanned quickly, the names flashing by on the screen until a result was ready.

" _Search results: No patient found."_

Jaune sighed and pinched his brow in frustration.

"Well she's definitely here!" He shouted.

" _Understood, performing full hospital search."_

The search started again, taking a little longer this time as the entire hospital database was scanned. Jaune waited with tension as the names scrolled by again.

" _Results: 0 patients found, 0 staff found, 1 visitor registered within the facility."_

"That's her!" Jaune laughed. "Where is she?"

" _This visitor is currently located in the Director's Office. Would you like this unit to transport you there now?"_

"What do you think?" Jaune rolled his eyes at the machine's formality.

" _Interpreting vague answer as: Yes. Please hold onto the safety railing and keep arms and legs inside the transport at all times."_

As the transporter pad whizzed along the corridor, Jaune got a better look at the facility. The central tower was his main focus and as he drew nearer, he noticed a symbol on the side of the building. A rod with a snake wrapping itself around it.

 ***BING BONG** *

" _I see you are taking notice of our depiction of the Rod of Aesculapius It is a symbol associated with the ancient Greek god known as Asclepius. He was a deity associated with medicine and well being. His staff and the snakes used in ancient surgery were combined to make this universal symbol for healthcare organisations all over the world."_

"That's...um...interesting but... can we hurry this up?" Jaune asked, not wanting to be rude but still getting impatient.

" _I am sorry, but I am limited to this current speed by my programming for safety reasons. I apologise for any inconvenience."_

Jaune laughed to himself and shook his head. "Well.. it could be worse."

He went back to admiring the grand design all around him. It's sheer size alone was impressive enough and must have taken forever to build. Then again, given Neo Arcadian tech, they could have easily done it in an afternoon! The transport then passed by two pillars with statues on top of each one of them. They looked strangely like Pantheon's but with wings and wearing specialised gear for flying.

"Hey, um... Computer...lady...thing? What's the deal with these statues?"

" _Error: I am unaware of any statues in this area sir."_

That was weird, they were right in front of them, clear as day.

"C'mon, you mean to tell me you don't see the two statues right in front of us?"

" _My records show no constructions in this area sir, perhaps you are imagining these constructions. Shall I request assistance for you?"_

Jaune ignored her and focused on the statues instead. The transport was passing by them at that very moment and he squinted to get a good look at them. Jaune gave a small gasp as he realised they were shaking! Small cracks formed all over them until, with a smash of marble, the inhabitants within broke free and flew out.

The statues were two Pantheon Ace's, who began flying up high before looking back down at Jaune. They both wore distinctive visors consisting of a smiley face and a a frowning face styled like emojis, but with blood splatters all over them. They did not speak but gestured to each other and made noises appropriate to their visors.

The one with the frowning face pointed down at Jaune with a few distorted "Boo-hoo-hoo!" sounds being emitted as he did so. The other responded with a high pitched, also distorted giggle while dragging a finger across her neck. They both nodded to each other before diving down towards Jaune.

"Okay." Jaune gulped. "It just got worse!"

 _ **(Insert music: Star Fox Zero – Pigma Appears)**_

The frowning Pantheon fired the opening shots which tore through the glass tunnel easily, making the glass along the whole construct break apart and shattering it into tiny fragments that rained down on Jaune's head. He brought up his shield to shelter from the shards when the smiley Pantheon flew alongside him and opened fire. Jaune was glad he had Akouo with him as well, reaching for it from the holster on his back, he just managed to bring it in front of his face in time to hear the shots ping off it.

The two Ace's flew alongside each other. They gave a quick nod to one another before they fired in unison. It took both Akouo and Corcea Mors together to block the stream of shots. Despite not dealing any damage though, the shots still caused a large amount of knock back, to the point where Jaune was practically on the edge of the platform he was on!

One more double shot was enough to push him too far. With a cry, Jaune fell backwards. His lower half was still on the platform but his head was mere inches away from the ground that zipped past him in a blur. Realising he was slipping off, Jaune pulled Corcea Mors behind his head so it acted like a sledge of sorts. Sparks flew as the shield skidded along the ground. At least it wasn't his head!

"Well, that's gonna need a paint job!" Jaune sighed, as the white paint was etched into the floor in a messy trail.

A few more shots hit the ground near him. Looking up, he saw the Aces moving ever closer. He brought up Akouo to protect himself from the onslaught.

" _Please keep you arms and legs inside the transport at all times."_ The computer reminded him.

"Wish I could!" Jaune shouted back.

The smiley Ace activated a concealed wrist blade. Looking at it with a giggle, it then looked at Jaune, who was understandably worried. He was even more concerned when the smiley Ace drew the blade across it's neck as if to say: 'You're dead!' The Ace began descending to his altitude, arm drawn back in preparation to run Jaune through!

The Pantheon landed on the transport and tried to stab at Jaune. Luckily, it had misjudged how sensitive the device was and the platform began to topple to one side, forcing the Pantheon to pull it's arm back and regain balance. This gave Jaune the chance to get back up, using the toppling transport to assist him. He sprung back onto his feet and placed Akouo onto his back holster, leaving him with Corcea Mors. Psyching himself up, he re-engaged his opponent.

The two stood ready, anticipating each others strikes, making the occasional feint move to try and bring the other off guard. Jaune was first to make a full attempt, stabbing forward with his sword. The Pantheon dodged to the left, bring it's arm up so the attack passed underneath his arm and hit thin air. The Pantheon countered with a swing at Jaune's head, though it was ducked under. Before Jaune could get back to a fighting position, he felt the boot of the Pantheon smash into his chest.

"OOF!" Jaune groaned as he fell back down again.

He barely managed to bring Corcea Mors across himself in time to stop the Pantheon Ace from pouncing onto him. The Ace giggled constantly as it tried to wrestle Jaune's blade away from him, with the Hunter using all his might to get the Reploid off.

"Grrr...humph...Get...get off me!" Jaune protested as he fought on. Still the Ace refused to budge, but Jaune had no time for this!

Reaching for his back, Jaune pawed around with one hand whilst struggling to push the Pantheon back with the other. The Ace leaned in closer, it's visor almost right against Jaune's face, the giggling ringing in his ears. Until finally, Jaune found what he was looking for.

"Think this is funny, huh? Well laugh at THIS!"

 ***BANG** *

Milo was held in Jaune's grasp, it's ranged form active and the barrel smoking. The Pantheon backed up, taking a brief moment to assess the damage. It seemed to be operating fine, before realising a sparking sound coming from it's back. Scanning itself, the Ace found it's jet pack was destroyed.

That moment was all Jaune needed.

He quickly rolled between the Pantheon's legs as it was examining itself and through to the other side of the transport. Before the Pantheon knew what was happening, Jaune kicked both his feet forward, hitting his enemy in the back. The Pantheon toppled over the side of the transport and rolled towards the edge. As it slid, it grabbed onto the side for a brief moment but the floor was too smooth and slippery to grab onto. The Pantheon pawed at the floor rapidly before it fell over the edge into the abyss below, it's giggles growing fainter as it went.

"BOOHOOHOO!"

Jaune looked up as the other Ace seemed to react to its comrades death. Deciding to maintain the altitude advantage, it opened fire at Jaune again. Reloading Milo, Jaune turned his back to the gunfire and let it ping off the holstered shields. Cocking the rifle, he returned fire, though the Pantheon easily dodged around them.

Jaune took a quick look ahead, noticing something in the distance. He then lowered the rifle and called out to his enemy.

"Uh... just a word of advice, you may wanna...WOAH!"

The blonde Hunter just managed to move back enough to avoid the next wave of gunfire, the bullets hitting the centre of the transport instead, leaving impact holes all over.

"No, seriously, you're gonna have t-"

More fire from the Pantheon, this time Jaune had to turn his back and use the shields as protection, keeping his head low as he heard the shots impact on the shields and whiz over him too. He looked ahead again and shook his head.

"Oh dear." He said softly. Before raising his voice to shout to the flying Reploid. "Look, what I'm trying to say is-"

 ***KABOOM** *

The whole area was suddenly dark, save for some small illuminating lights that lined the walls and went by in a blur. Behind, Jaune saw the flash of his foe's explosion, as well as hearing it echo through the tunnel he was travelling in.

"-there's a tunnel ahead." He finished his sentence, not that the Pantheon could hear him, what with his audio receptors having been blown to kingdom come!

Now was not the time for a victorious smirk at his enemy's misfortune though. This tunnel hadn't just come along by chance of course, it meant that Jaune was now entering the central complex. The transport then came to a halt in the centre of a vertical shaft when an on screen menu appeared, followed by the familiar female voice.

" _Please select destination."_

Jaune made his selection without saying a word, a steeled expression on his face that veiled his anger at those who had taken his beloved from him. As the transport began to ascend to the desired floor, Jaune knew only one thing was certain.

He was not leaving without Pyrrha.

 _ **Director's Office – Top Floor**_

Two regular Pantheons stood guard in the near barren room. Nothing else was present, no light source to illuminate any distractions. Just one single light shining over the top of a stasis capsule.

Within, lay Pyrrha Nikos.

She was breathing softly, her chest moving up and down gently and in rhythm. She showed no signs of being disturbed as the capsule suppressed her ability to awaken or act in any meaningful way.

Even so, no chances were being taken. Why waste two soldiers on guarding something which cannot do anything? Simple, Hunters are capable of the impossible, and Xevach knew that all too well.

It did little to help however as the entry doors hissed open. Both Pantheon's raised their weapons but could see nothing in the darkness.

 ***BANG BANG***

Two shots came from the doorway and both Reploids fell to the ground with a bullet hole through each of their heads. Then came the gentle tapping of footsteps as Jaune Arc walked into the room, holstering Milo as he did so.

There, just ahead of him was the prison that held Pyrrha, the one dearest to him. Without any more hesitation, he sprinted over to the capsule, his footsteps echoing throughout the chamber. He placed one hand upon the glass as he beheld Pyrrha's face.

She looked like she had before the battle of Beacon. She still wore her armour but it had been fully repaired to ensure the neural link between her and the copy had no differences that would have alerted her to her position as a prisoner. All her wounds were healed, the burn marks on her wrists from the fight with Cinder were gone, as was the scarring around her eyes. There were no cuts, bruises or marks of any kind. She was unharmed, and that was all that mattered to Jaune.

Reaching his hand to the side of the capsule, he found the release switch and gently clicked it on. The sound of air rushing back into the capsule followed, hissing as the life support systems powered down and the glass casing split down the middle. Both section pulled to the sides, setting Pyrrha free.

Jaune reached his arm out, and gently ran the back of his hand along one of Pyrrha's cheeks. She twitched slightly as the sensation was registered by her body. Her eyes slowly flickered open, their emerald green colour as bold and beautiful as Jaune remembered. Pyrrha looked at him with bleary eyes as Jaune simply smiled at her.

"Hey..." He began, unsure of what else he really could say.

Her eyes focused on him, their full vision slowly returning. Pyrrha could see the familiar white and gold armour, the black hoodie, that messy blonde hair and the ocean blue eyes that she had gotten lost gazing into so many time before.

"Hey." She smiled back weakly, her voice sounding hushed having not been used for so long.

"You... you came for me..." She said softly, the joy on her face now much more prevalent.

"Of course I did." He replied, barely able to hold back his own tears of joy. "Like you said, Jaune Arc doesn't break a promise."

Unable to wait any longer, Pyrrha threw herself at Jaune, wrapping her arms around him and hugging as tightly as she could. A few tears rolled down her cheeks, soaked up by Jaune's hoodie as she nuzzled her face in close to him.

"This is real... Oh god this is real! I can't tell you how sorry I am for what I did!"

"It wasn't your fault Pyrrha, they captured you." Jaune said, confused as to why she was beating herself up so much.

"Yes it was! If I'd just gone back to you all when Cinder attacked, she wouldn't have beaten me. Those two would never have found me and you wouldn't have suffered at the hands of that copy."

She buried her head even further in, shaking it as she cried.

"I'm so, so sorry!"

Jaune gently moved her head away from his chest and lifted her chin up to look at him. He smiled kindly and wiped away one of the tears that fell along her cheeks.

"You don't need to apologise, Pyrrha. Maybe it wasn't the best move to go and fight Cinder by yourself, but you only did that because you cared. You didn't want Cinder to hurt any of us, so you put yourself in the front line to stop her. You put your life on the line to save so many others, how could we be mad at you for that?"

Pyrrha wiped away the rest of the tears on her face.

"You really mean that?" She asked.

"Well... it could just be the old Arc charm!" Jaune joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Pyrrha clearly appreciated it as she laughed with him, letting Jaune pull her closer into the embrace. He ran a hand through her hair and spoke softly into her ear as she rested her head upon his shoulder.

"Your safe now, that's all that matters to me."

"How touching." A voice said from the darkness outside the spotlight.

The lights in the room started to activate, allowing our heroes to see where they were. The room was a perfect circle, almost arena like in construction. The windows stretched right around the circumference of the room to give a clear view of the entire complex. June and Pyrrha jumped slightly as the capsule descended into the floor and made the whole arena clear and ready for a battle as Xevach stepped forward, his blade holstered in his back and arms behind him.

"I must say that I'm quite surprised to see you made it all the way up here, Mister Arc. But not disappointed."

Jaune drew Corcea Mors, holding in front of Pyrrha protectively.

"Given what you did to Pyrrha at Beacon, I'm not exactly in the mood to talk with you. So how about you back off and let us leave, or is this going to have to get ugly?"

Xevach laughed to himself. "It seems you've gotten a lot bolder since Beacon. Not to mention your skill and strength has also grown. Exactly as I predicted it would."

"Care to elaborate on that?" Jaune responded.

"I observed you before the battle at the Academy. Simply put, you were an embarrassment. You had no skill, you were weak, with only your beloved friend here to keep you in touch. That was half the reason I took her."

"What?" Pyrrha gasped.

"X could see something in all of your friends, Jaune Arc, but he could also see something in you, and if there is one thing I've learned over the years, it is to trust his judgement. There was something about you, Arc. X saw the capability in you to become one of the greatest warriors of this world, even more so than your friends. It was that strength I sought to unlock in you.

"Why? I don't understand." Jaune was baffled.

"Simply put, I disagree with Xandria's plan."

That was certainly news to Pyrrha and Jaune. Of course it also left more question than answers but the two decided to hear Xevach out.

"As you may recall, Xandria and I were created from X's DNA. We were designed to protect and serve Neo Arcadia. When I was first activated, I swore an oath to keep the humans and Reploids of the time safe, as well as heed the commands of both X and Xandria. Many years have passed since the fateful day that Arcadia fell, and I have had much to reflect upon."

"I have grown to realise that Xandria and her ways are wrong, that by enacting them I would be rendering my oath to X and Neo Arcadia useless. There was no higher power than he in the past, not even Xandria's orders can overwrite my oath."

"Then help us fight. You have enough power, you could help us defeat Xandria!" Pyrrha encouraged him.

Xevach sighed and shook his head. "Were it only that simple."

He continued.

"I am bound to X by oath, but Xandria bound me through programming. My body will not let me act against her, and she is not so merciful as X to grant me simply death if I defy her. That is why I sought to make you stronger, Master Arc."

Xevach drew his blade and rested it upon his shoulder.

"I cannot lend my strength to you in the fight against Xandria, so I sought to help you build your own strength. By taking Pyrrha from you, I have not only kept Xandria at bay from discovering my plans. I have also given you the strength to face her and perhaps emerge victorious. Firstly though, we shall test your power, both of you."

"You want to fight us?" Jaune asked in disbelief. "But what about you? You could die!"

"Then... I shall be free. Xandria will be aware of me being against her, and she will make me suffer for it. Defeat me, here and now, and I shall not only be free from Xandria's wrath, I shall also keep my oath to X and perhaps, in a small way, atone for my sins.

He stared off into the nothingness as he thought of all those he had been forced to cut down, just to keep up the charade that he was on Xandria's side, Ozpin especially. The man was wise beyond years and could have prevented this war from escalating to the point it had. Once Xandria had declared her attack on Beacon however, he knew Ozpin's fate was sealed.

Xevach smiled at Jaune.

"That is why I chose you for this, Jaune. I see what X sees in you. You have compassion, you have honour. You will fight to do what is right and to protect those you care for, no matter the cost. It is a great credit to your honour, knight. Now I ask you both to do your part in helping me keep mine. Ready yourselves!"

With a straight face and a determined look, Jaune drew Corcea Mors. He took Milo and Akouo as well, passing them to Pyrrha. He gave her a nod as she took her weapons and readied them.

"Thank you...Xevach. If we had known sooner then maybe we could have-" Jaune spoke but was interrupted.

"She would have found out if I had left to join you. I believe the human saying is: 'Damned if I do and damned if I don't.' Now, steady your blades and your hearts young ones, show me the power that will bring Xandria to her knees!"

 _ **(Insert music: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentina – The Fallen Knight)**_

"Don't expect me to hold back, Xandria will not. Now fight!"

The earth rumbled as energy was gathered from around the room, whipped up into a vortex that was absorbed by Xevach's blade as he held it high. The blade began to glow orange and the power increase was tangible through the air.

Xevach dragged his blade through the ground, tearing up small chunks of the floor as it passed through before flicking it up at the end of it's path. Pyrrha was the first to engage as she timed her run after his swing. Sliding underneath the sword and round behind Xevach, she slashed repeatedly at his back. The Reploid prove tougher than expected, as he barely even flinched at the attempts.

Throwing his blade upwards, Xevach leapt up to catch it in mid-air before slamming it down onto the floor. There was brief flash before huge stalagmites of rock emerged from the point where the blade had made contact. Jaune managed to point his shield at a downward angle in time to prevent being impaled upon the formation, rising up with it before it vanished again.

Xevach did not delay in taking advantage of the opening. As Jaune was getting back up, he grabbed him by his armour and bounced him off the ground. As Jaune reached the peak height of the bounce, Xevach leapt above him and placed his sword on Jaune's back, forcing it downwards and smashing Jaune into the ground with it.

Jaune pushed himself back up and wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth, readying his weapons again.

"You don't give up, Jaune. Good, that attitude will serve you well." Xevach praised.

While he was distracted, Pyrrha thought she could get a quick strike in behind. As she ran up though, Xevach grabbed her arm and lifted her so they were face to face.

"If I might make a recommendation, such simple strategies will not prove effective." Xevach warned.

He then flung Pyrrha across the room, hitting the wall which reverberated the sound of impact. As she fell off, Xevach smashed his blade into the ground and made a trail of stalagmites erupt across the floor towards her. She fell on top of them just as they shot up underneath her. Pyrrha was catapulted skyward and fell back down with a grunt of pain as small rocks rained down around her.

"Enough of the warm up, time to give you a real taste of what you will be up against! RRRRRAAAAGGGGHHH!"

The energy gathered once again, the blade now glowing bright blue and feeling far more powerful than before. Jaune gave a small gulp as Pyrrha got back on her feet. Thankfully her aura had practically got rid of any hibernation sickness, though she still didn't feel quite 100% yet.

Xevach began charging towards Jaune, sweeping the blade in front of him in an infinity shape pattern. Each time it hit the floor, a ring of blue energy spread out in a circle, meaning there was no easy way for Jaune to dodge it. Regardless, Jaune stood his ground, shield placed firmly in front of him in the hope that he could block it.

Pyrrha knew he could not, but she had a plan. Just as Xevach drew close enough, she cast her polarity on Jaune's armour, lifting him high above Xevach, who watched on confused. At least until he saw Pyrrha, her hand glowing black and eyes closed as she put all her effort into keeping Jaune afloat.

Pulling his sword back, Xevach looked as if he was going to swing again. Instead and much to Jaune's surprise, he flung the blade forward. It went spinning off towards Pyrrha. She opened her eyes and gave a small gasp as she realised it's approach too late. The blade hit her directly in the chest, carrying her with it into the wall.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune cried.

He looked down at Xevach, who was now weaponless and prepared his next move. Pyrrha's semblance power was fading since she was no longer conjuring it, the black aura around Jaune's armour beginning to flicker and fade, he would have to time his move correctly.

Jaune removed the sheath from his belt and placed his sword into it. A few mechanisms clicked and whirred before the sheath expanded outwards and the sides became much sharper. A little upgrade he had requested from the Schnee team when their weapons were being fitted with Ceratanium edges, making his sword into a two hander and adding much more weight and power to it.

As the polarity semblance wore off, Jaune held the blade above his head and fell towards Xevach. With a mighty cry he swung the blade down, gaining Xevach's attention and causing the Reploid to look up at him. Sparks flew off as the sword edge cut down through Xevach's armour, doing major damage. Jaune then began slashing away at him with simple combos. Though basic, the swords weight and power were the real damage dealers. With a final spin through 360 degree, Jaune landed a swing at Xevach's chest that sent him flailing across the room, landing just beside his sword.

"It seems I misjudged you. I was careless." Xevach groaned as he reached for his sword and pushed himself up with it.

Straight away, he ran at Jaune again with blade held backhand. As he swung, Jaune raised his shield to protect himself, only to realise it was being used for his sword upgrade! Xevach swung but his attack was blocked by another shield. Pyrrha held Akouo against it, denying the Reploid his chance to strike at Jaune. Enraged, Xevach pushed Pyrrha away.

"Move aside!" He demanded, as Pyrrha stumbled backwards, ending up next to Jaune.

Xevach then leapt up and threw his blade downwards. It landed between the two Hunters, flashing for a fraction of a second before...

 ***KABOOM!** *

A blue energy explosion engulfed the two, obscuring them from vision as Xevach came back down and stood back to observe his work. Had they survived? That was one of his most powerful attacks and though he had not wanted to use it, this was a trial by fire. If they could survive that, they could stand against Xandria.

As the smoke cleared, Xevach could hear the hum of energy, along with a glowing golden orb in the middle. It was transparent, save for the edges and within, he could see Jaune's form had the same white glow around the edge, as well as his sword and shield being completely covered in it. Pyrrha shield and weapon were glowing with power as well, though theirs had a bronze coloured aura.

"Incredible..." Xevach said softly. "Their strength combined, the link between their souls, it surpasses even my power."

The orb faded away, but both Pyrrha and Jaune's weapons kept glowing with power. They took a look at them, feeling the energy coursing through the blades and their bodies. Looking into each others eyes, they smiled and nodded to each other.

Pyrrha dashed forward in a blur, going past Xevach and landing a strike as she passed him. It left a glowing gash in his armour, just above his left shoulder. She then turned and faced Jaune, who waited on the opposite side of the room.

"Together!" They said in unison.

Both Jaune and Pyrrha slashed twice at the air, leaving pulsating waves of energy in the shape of an X in each of their respective colours of white and bronze. The energy waves remained still for a few seconds, until Pyrrha and Jaune cast them forward. The attacks shot towards each other, meeting in the middle, exactly where Xevach stood.

The waves made contact, followed by a blinding light and a deafening whine, almost like a flashbang had been thrown. Both Hunters covered their eyes and turned away from the light, until it finally subsided.

 _ **(Insert music: Dark Souls OST – Gwyn, Lord of Cinder)**_

Opening their eyes, Jaune and Pyrrha found the room as it once was before the battle, save for the figure of Xevach. He was lying on his front in the centre of the room, barely moving. Both ran up to him to see what damage they had done.

"Xevach!" Pyrrha called to him.

Just as they reached him, Xevach held his hand up to tell them to halt. He then pushed it against the ground and began slowly pushing himself up. Getting to his knee's he took a brief moment of respite before standing up again, though clearly barely able to.

"Very impressive. Clearly, you have what it takes... to defeat my sister."

He then collapsed onto one knee again, using hands to stop him falling completely. Pyrrha and Jaune reached down to try and help him but he did not accept it.

"My sword... please... bring me my sword..."

Jaune looked around and found Xevach's blade a little farther away from where he had fallen. He ran over and tried to pick it up with one hand, only to find it was a lot heavier than Xevach made it look! Placing both hands around the handle, he began dragging it over to their fallen opponent.

He gently placed the sword down beside Xevach, who nodded his thanks to Jaune and reached down to pick it up. Using what little strength he had left, Xevach got back to his feet before thrusting the blade into the ground. He then placed both hands upon the top of the handle and knelt down in front of the blade.

He let out a deep sigh. "I have done what I can for you. My path ends here, the rest is up to you."

A door opened at the far end of the room. It's mechanisms echoing around the chamber as it clanged into position.

"This door will lead to the throne room. Your friends will already be making their way there. Go, use your power, save Master X... and the world. GUGH!"

Xevach's body began sparking badly, he didn't have long left.

"Leave my body... here. Xandria will not... have her revenge... upon me." And... when you do see Master X... tell him... tell him I... kept... my oath..."

"We will do that much at least." Pyrrha promised him. "We will let him and the world know that not all supported Xandria."

Jaune placed a hand on Xevach's shoulder. "Rest easy. You've done all you could do."

"Thank...you..." Xevach said in a hushed voice before his head fell forward slowly, and gently rested against his blade. He did not move or speak any more after that.

Rising to their feet, Pyrrha and Jaune looked at the pathway that had opened. It had taken so many sacrifices to get this far, even friends they didn't know they had. Now they had a chance to bring Xandria down. They knew that together, they would be able to overcome any challenge, Xevach had proven that to them. Pyrrha gently squeezed Jaune's hand and gave him a confident smile.

"We've been given a way to save our world. Let's not waste it." She said.

"Ready when you are, partner." Jaune smiled back.

Without any more delay, the two sprinted off through the doorway towards their objective. Leaving behind the body of the fallen knight. The unsung hero, who gave up everything, to keep his promise to humanity.

 _ **Boy, this was a blast to write! Yes it took a while but I was really busy with work.**_

 _ **So, we only have Xandria left now. All the heroes are on their way to confront and stop her and save X. But will she have any more tricks up her sleeve? You'll find out soon! ;)**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	60. Saving a Legend

_**The final battles! (Notice the plural) Xandria is running out of tricks, it is time for her to meet the heroes! What will happen? Will they succeed? Let's find out!**_

 _ **Fateoffencer: Hi there! A pleasure to have you enjoy the story so far. I as thinking about Dynamo but decided against it. Although he did pester X, it was merely a job to him, he didn't have a personal grudge against X or anything. Colonel and General were also victims of Sigma's plot and not against X. As for Redips, he wasn't canon so I didn't put him in. Don't worry by the way, no chance of me abandoning this story now!**_

 _ **Locke Lynx: A great quote and thank you for the compliments!**_

 _ **R98: Like a lot of enemies in the X series, he was a victim of powers he could not control. He was bound to Xandria's command, despite disagreeing with her.**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga: Well I don't know how you thought it would go so... read on and tell me I guess?**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar: Xandria did explain her motives, she simply went through a logic loop and believed Reploids to be superior. A belief she holds so strongly that she will go to any lengths necessary. I also saw that Wily link, particularly in X5 since Sigma mentions 'An old man I met.'**_

 _ **Gundam-Knight-Chris: FIGHT!**_

 _ **SmashHero75: Glad I could drop the subtle hints with his personality and actions, or lack of actions rather. If you look carefully, he was never fully supportive of Xandria's plan, he just went along with it as needed. He also kept on seeing how strong RWBY and their friends were.**_

 _ **Roboman007: The Portal 2 reference, yes (Gives a cookie). The Pantheon Aces, well spotted! They were a reference to chaingun guy and gal from RVB! (Gives a bag of cookies, despite Ruby's protests!)**_

 _ **On we go!**_

How long had she been standing here? Too long, that was for certain. She had to go in there, had to enter and confront Xandria for herself. Such a simple task, yet she found herself struggling to move forward.

Blake stared into the eyes of the logo on the door. The Neo Arcadia symbol; the blue circle with wing like protrusions on either side at the bottom of the circle. Inside those wings, were two slits to represent eyes. They stared into her soul, told her that this was where her enemy waited, expectantly, and that they would be fighting her with all they had.

She was nervous. Xandrai had shown her hand before with the attacks on Beacon and their base. She had shown she was willing to destroy lives, kill innocents, she was willing to commit genocide! All just to see her ambitions come to fruition. Now she had X and Blake had no idea what had been done to him, nor did she know what had become of her friends.

But she also knew that those same friends, and the world, were counting on her. Now was not the time for fear to take hold, she had let fear rule her for too long! Be it while Adam was still haunting her, fear at what her friends thought of her when she went after him, or the fear of what she was going to face here now. It would not hold her back any more!

Before she could reconsider her own thought, she placed a hand upon the door. The emblem flashed for a second to signify it was unlocked. It began to rotate and remove the holding mechanisms, before sliding open and granting her access.

It wasn't too late, she could still turn back now.

"No. That's not an option." Blake told herself.

With a deep breath, she stepped through the door. It shut behind her immediately. There was no going back now, but that was exactly what she needed to know. There was no more chance of doubt, she was here and she would have to press on.

As her mind cleared, Blake finally got a chance to actually observe the room she had entered. As soon as she looked though, her breath left her.

She was standing on a golden tiled floor, with a red carpet stretching along it towards the central area. Above her were several thin, golden archways, decorated with a variety of patterns and jewels. Aside from that, the room was open and gave way to a beautiful scene.

The constructions were sitting in the middle of a sea of flowers of all kinds. They moved gently as a breeze blew by, whisking up several hundred petals that floated across the walkway and brushed delicately against Blake's skin. Above her was a glorious blue sky, with wispy white clouds and a gentle warmth that made her feel at peace.

Despite this beauty, she continued onward, the click of her heels muffled by the carpet beneath her feet.

Looking ahead, she saw a throne, also golden with a hollow circular piece above the throne, within which was a small model of Remnant. It rotated slowly as the real planet would, the beauty of such a sight amplifying the splendour of the throne room itself. It was like a vision of Heaven in some of the ancient books that Blake had read.

All that spoiled it, was the person present on the throne itself.

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman ZXA Tunes – The Chosen one)**_

"So, you've finally arrived Blake. I'm glad, I have so been looking forward to this moment." The woman on the throne said.

"Xandria." Blake snarled under her breath.

Xandria gave a silent laugh, her shoulders moving up and down as an indication.

"You know... I didn't have to do all of this, Blake. I have all Grimm and Reploid kind under my command, not to mention all the Reaverbots from millennia ago. I could have marched across this world, burning it to the ground and destroying you and your friends with ease Yet I chose not to, and do you know why?"

"Enlighten me." Blake replied sarcastically.

"I wanted X to be under my control regardless, but I only chose to use Eleos after your little incident with the White Fang. I found it most interesting."

"Unlike you, I base my decisions on logic and facts. The use of emotions and feelings to dictate what response should be given is often illogical. I am passionate about my plan, true, but it all stemmed from my research and observations to discover that Reploids are superior and should be rulers of this world."

"What amazes me however, is the power that seems to come from following your heart, and trusting these emotions. I saw X's anger and emotional need to rescue you after your capture and how it helped him defeat Vile. I witnessed your rage and sadness when X was captured, which enabled you to defeat Lumine. Despite my knowledge, I cannot calculate how your emotion and power correlate with each other."

"By giving you a time limit and a goal to reach, I sought to see you fight and understand how you can become so strong, despite your obvious shortcomings. My fellow council members have died in the process of gathering this data, but there is still more for me to discover."

 ***CLICK** *

 _ **Perimeter Defence Zone**_

"Alright. I bet."

Vile casually tossed some money into the centre of the floor where he was sitting, along with Neo and two soldiers. A few others were spectating or doing their own thing.

They had fought back the Neo Arcadians with relative ease and with the perimeter defence locked down, they had little cause for concern. As such, Vile and Neo were trying to fill the time before they got the call to come and assist their friends. One soldier, seemed very unsettled though.

"I don't like this, it feels like something is gonna happen."

Vile sighed. "Well it ain't. You've said the same thing three times already. Neo, your move."

Neo peered down at her cards before she too threw in some money, as well as a few sweets she had on hand.

"You kidding me?! I fold!" One soldier said angrily, throwing his cards down on the ground.

"They've been gone for a long time now, it's all too suspicious I tell you." The soldier went on.

"Look." Vile said. "Team RWBY and JNPR will contact us as soon as they get to Xandria, until then, there is nothing we can do and nothing the enemy can do. So just relax. What's the worst that could happen?"

As soon as Vile said that, a light engulfed him and Neo and they vanished into thin air.

"I hate it when your right!" One soldier said to the nervous one as they readied their weapons and prepared to move out.

 _ **Throne Room**_

With a simple snap of her fingers, eleven lights appeared in the room around Blake. A moment later, they were gone. Team RBY, JNPR and Neo all groaned and rubbed their heads.

"Ow. Teleporting is a lot less fun than I thought." Nora grumbled, reliving the feeling she had gotten before facing Bit and Byte.

Zero, Axl and Vile were also present but were not affected by the motion sickness symptoms. They were more concerned about why Xandria had brought them here, as they all drew their weapons.

"That is why I have an experiment for you to take part in... all of you." Xandria smiled.

Steam started to rise from a circle on the floor as it parted down the middle, letting a shaft open up. As steam continued to pour out, the sound of an elevator whirring could be heard, and from within the mist, they could see something moving, something they all recognised.

"No... you didn't!" Zero began.

"Oh yes! I did!" Xandria laughed.

The steam soon dissipated, revealing the one they were both hoping to see, and praying wasn't present at the same time. The cyan and blue armour still as it was, a buster cannon on one hand and a sabre holstered on his belt. The once brilliant blue eyes however, were now a blood red and the look on his face was almost empty and soulless.

"...X?" Blake gasped, scarcely able to believe her eyes.

"HAHA! I knew you would be all right! I just knew it!" Nora laughed as she ran up to hug X.

"Nora, wait!" Ren warned her.

She didn't listen, skipping towards X happily, she gave him her familiar childlike grin. X turned his head slowly, looking her over, his head moving up and down slowly to take in everything. Slowly, he raised his hand up beside his head. Then...

 ***WHACK** *

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman ZERO – X, The Legend (Remix) by Hunter Marverick)**_

Nora was flung aside by the force as X backhanded her. She clattered to the ground, holding one side of her face as Ren rushed to help her. X simply looked down upon them, not acknowledging their anger at him, nor Nora's light tears as her cheek stung.

"X! What the hell are you doing!?" Yang protested.

"He's not doing anything. Isn't that right, Xandria?" Vile understood what was happening.

"I decided to give X a few... modifications, shall we say." Xandria smiled innocently. "This X is completely loyal to me and Neo Arcadia. He has no time for such trivial things as friends, partners or even loved ones."

That last one was clearly a jab at Blake, and it stung hard. Everyone drew their weapons and aimed them at Xandria. Blake's guns shook with rage as her finger tightened over the trigger.

"You bitch!" She snarled through watery eyes as she fired.

 ***BANG** *

 ***PING** *

Blake stared in disbelief as she saw X standing between her and Xandria, a smoking bullet held between his fingers. He watched Blake with unblinking eyes, while Xandria just cackled evilly behind him.

"This is the experiment I wanted to conduct. Tell me, all of you. Your emotions, your passion, your love for one another as friends and sometimes more. You say it gives you power beyond understanding; let us see if it is enough to get through to X. I do hope you all enjoy participating in this little experiment. I will be watching eagerly!"

With that, Xandria sat back down on her throne and placed her head on one arm, waiting for the show to begin. A force field activated itself over her throne to ensure she could not be caught in the chaos.

X dropped the bullet, crossed his arms over his body and then flung them back outwards. Several parts of his body began to glow, as an armour formed over them in preparation for battle. His head received a silver headpiece with two protrusions covering his ear section, two more closer to the centre of his forehead and two gold protrusions closer still to the centre. Squared off shoulder pads formed, joined by a green crystal in his chest, as well as silver knee sections with a gold spike protrusion pointing downward from his shins towards his feet.

Then, two glorious silver wings formed, with blue energy jets gently emitting from them. On his left arm, silver armour covered him down to his wrist, elongated out either side to form a shield at the bottom of which was a golden, triangular sabre blade, buzzing softly as it sat idle. On the other arm, his buster cannon became far more bulky, as well as changing to a silver colouration. Two extra barrels formed beside each other and sat above the main buster cannon, with their own enlarged power unit to give them life.

 **(Author's note: This armour is based of the Giga Armour action figure by Tamashii Nations. Please look it up for more details, it looks badass!)**

"X... please...no..." Blake sobbed.

"I'm sorry Blake." Yang told her, not able to bear looking her in the eye as she too held back tears at the thought of what she was about to say. "We have to stop him, by any means necessary."

"How can I?" Blake shouted back. "I...I love him!"

Blake then felt Ruby's hand on her shoulder. Looking at her, Blake could see the child prodigy was barely able to keep herself together either. She had been in this position before after all, faced with losing someone she held dear, but she spoke wise words regardless.

"Blake... if you truly care about him, then you know this isn't what he would want. Letting him live on as a threat to this world, that would be a fate worse than death for him. I know it's hard, but we have to do it... for X."

Though she didn't want to admit it, Blake knew that was the truth. Sadly, she drew her katanas and readied them for battle. She lined up alongside her friends and they all prepared for the fight none of them wanted.

"For X." Blake said to herself.

X spoke to them, though in a language RWBY, JNPR and Neo did not understand.

"Watashi to tatakaitaidesu ka? Heh! Orokana! Watashi wa anata yori mo zutto kyoryokudesu! Watashi wa anata no ningen no rikai o koete imasu! Watashi wa mutekidesu!"

…

"WARE WA MESSIAH NARI! HAHAHAHA!"

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman Zero Mythos – Cannonball)**_

X dashed forward and was instantly in the centre of the group. He swung his blade downward and hit the ground where Blake was standing mere milliseconds ago. The teams split up as the force of the attack made debris fall from the ceiling. Blake leapt further back to avoid them as they tore through the floor in front of her.

A few more fell towards Vile and Neo. The latter opened her umbrella and let the rocks bounce harmlessly off it.

"What the hell was that thing made of?" Vile thought to himself, before a larger chunk fell towards them.

Using his foot boosters, Vile hovered above Neo and aimed his shoulder cannon upwards. Firing a single shot, it penetrated the rock and exploded in the centre, making the debris rain down in tiny fragments that posed no threat at all.

X turned his attention to one of the other groups. His eyes fell upon Yang and Ruby, both manoeuvring for a better position on the battlefield. He raised his buster cannon and fired two shots, one for each of them. The plasma based projectiles zoomed towards the siblings, who noticed them late on in their approach, far too late to dodge!

 ***CLANG** *

 ***TING** *

The shots reflected harmlessly off the shields of Jaune and Pyrrha, who had both jumped into the line of fire to protect their friends. In response, X swung his sabre arm upward and sent out a wave of plasma that travelled close to the ground.

"Oh boy!" Jaune whimpered.

Jaune and Pyrrha rolled to the side in opposite directions, while Ruby leapt over the top of the wave. As she came back down, she fired Crescent Rose into the ground and boosted herself into the air again, aiming to attack X. He wasready for her though, waiting until the girl was in range before slashing upwards with a Tenshouzan strike

"GAH!" Ruby squealed as she was stunned and fell back down.

X prepared to finish her off, until Zero dashed in just before they touched the ground. Zero slashed at X with his standard three hit combo, doing a little damage to X's form, until the corrupted hero leapt back and fired two more buster shots. It took lightning reactions from Zero to block them in time.

Yang and Nora ran up to support him, but X punched the ground and sent out a small explosion of energy that knocked them all back slightly. Pulling back to regroup, Ren now jumped in and opened fire with his Stormflowers. The bullets pinged off X's armour uselessly, like they were merely grains of rice being thrown at him!

"Yowai!" X declared.

He then moved toward the group and began swinging at them whenever they were close. Each member dodged the attacks easily, as the armour was heavy but cumbersome. Missing a powerful overhead strike gave the team an opening. Ren, Yang and Nora began firing at X with their ranged weapons while Zero helped get Ruby to her feet. Their shots seemed to do minor damage but not enough as X prepared to retaliate.

Nora now changed her weapon to it's hammer form. Swinging it by the end of the handle, she flung it at X, the heavy weapon whirling through the air towards him.

"Rekkoha!" X shouted.

He punched the ground and several pillars of light surrounded him. The hammer flew towards the pillars, but merely bounced off them and fell uselessly to the ground. From the side, Pyrrha cast her semblance to give the hammer back to Nora.

The team then attacked the pillars together with their weapons. Yang, Zero, Nora, Ren and Ruby all began swinging away but did no damage at all. Inside the pillar, X was charging his sabre and when it was ready, he created a gap in the barrier to swing from.

"Guys, watch out!" Jaune warned.

He was too late however, as X swung with a strike that sent a wide energy pulse at them all. It pushed the whole team back, their feet skidding along the ground until they smashed into a wall on the far side of the room, several pieces of debris falling on top of them afterwards.

Their prison did not last long, as Yang smashed the rock aside in her wreathed flames form, sending large chunks towards X, who hopped backwards to avoid them.

Axl and Blake now moved into the fray and began running at X with their guns firing non stop. The shield on X's arm was more than sufficient to block their attempts as Blake ran in close to X. He swung his sword down at her and cut her down through the shoulder.

Or so he thought.

The copy of Blake faded away and the real Blake landed a blow against X's chest, the katana sparking as it left a large mark in his armour. Axl then somersaulted ober the top of X, firing his guns as he did so and forcing X to raise his shield overhead to defend himself. It gave Vile Weiss the perfect chance to strike. Vile launched a rocket from his shoulder cannon and Weiss sent out a fire shot to surround the rocket and make it deal extra damage.

X stumbled back and took stock of the situation as the friends all regrouped, still willing to face him to save their world.

"Hmph! Not bad!" Xandria admitted. "X! Destroy them!"

Without questioning, X moved in with a downwards slash from his sabre. Weiss brought her rapier up to block it but the force was enough to make it be cast aside as she did so. In defence, Yang blasted herself in with a gauntlet punch and fired off a charged buster shot to distract X. He used his shield to block it but it allowed time for Weiss to retrieve her weapon.

Jaune now made an attack. Though his simple strike was easily avoided by X, who countered with his own swing that Jaune could not avoid, the knight giving a small cry of pain as he felt the plasma edge burn the skin on his right arm. Pyrrha came to his aid with Milo in sword form. Their blades clashed and Pyrrha then used her semblance to drag both her and Jaune back to a safe distance.

X began firing charge shots in rapid succession.

"Nora! Ruby!" Pyrrha called.

"On it!" They said in unison.

Moving to either side of Pyrrha, who had switched Milo to javelin form, the trio began spinning their weapons in front of them, reflecting the shots that came towards them and letting them ricochet into various other directions.

"Blake, now!" Ruby commanded.

Rolling in front of them, Blake aimed her pistols at X, but didn't fire at what she saw. She saw X there, without the armour on. His eyes were blue once again, the same kind smile was gracing his face.

"W...what the-" Blake gasped.

The version of X that she saw dashed forward and immediately, she saw him back in his armour with anger in his eyes.

Still stunned from the vision, Blake was an easy target for a punch from X. She was sent rocketing backwards and skidded along the ground, with her three friends narrowly moving out of the way in time before X reached them.

X grabbed Nora's hammer and flung her away while she was still holding on to it. He then turned to Pyrrha, who vaulted over the top of X to avoid his attack on her, while Ruby used the opening to run past him and get a quick cut with Crescent Rose. She was too slow to follow it up though, and felt X's sabre slash her in the back. Thankfully her aura was sufficient protection, but it still hurt like hell.

X then backed away and fired motioned to Xandria. She happily obliged his request and summoned several different Pantheon's onto the battlefield. A Pantheon fist taking the front line, with some regular buster gun units in behind and a flying unit hovering above them.

"Kasai!" X ordered.

The Pantheon gunners all began firing at the team. Stepping forward, Jaune held his shield in front of himself and focused on his semblance. A brilliant white barrier covered him and his team and protecting them from the bullets. Ruby ran beyond the barrier and slashed the Pantheon fist in half, it's top sliding slowly off it's torso and crumpling to the floor.

"Ren! Axl! With me!" Blake called.

Firing her ribbon out, she latched onto the Pantheon flyer and began swinging from it. Axl and Ren held on to one foot each and began firing their weapons into the crowd of gunners, as Blake kept swinging around to dodge retaliation attacks. Another Pantheon fist tried to grab Blake and pull her off but was interrupted by Yang firing a buster shot, ripping it's arm off! As the last gunner fell, Axl and Ren let go and Blake swung up high above the flyer. Stabbing it through the chest, she then flung it to the ground before landing gracefully.

Another wave came, this time all Pantheon sabre wielders. They teleported in to surround the heroes. A mistake they wouldn't live to make again.

One was stabbed through his power core straight away by Blake's katana. Another tried to help and attacked Blake from behind, only to have Crescent Rose slice his head in half! Two more came at Ruby and were met with a charged shoulder round from Vile, blowing them to pieces.

The final group tried to reorganise themselves for a concentrated attack. Vile motioned for Nora to come over and he took her by the hand and flew up high. They aimed their weapons down at the enemies below and fired.

"Bombs away! Weeeee!" Nora laughed.

The grenades and shoulder shots engulfed the remaining Pantheons in a sea of fire. Their various components either being buckled or exploding due to heat from the fire surrounding them.

As the heroes charged at X again, he cast another Rekkoha to protect himself. Zero had an idea this time though. Turning his back to X, he whispered the ability words.

"Dark Hold."

The rotating pillars of light froze, as did everything in the room as time was brought to a halt. Zero had kept his ability off his friends however, allowing them to take advantage of the opportunity.

Yang began punching at the pillars, cracking them more and more until they shattered into orbs of energy that floated in the frozen second they were in. Following up, Weiss zipped forward and cast a glyph right on top of X.

"Attract!"

Time resumed and the orbs of energy all moved towards the glyph. The detonated as soon as they made contact with X, causing a multitude of small explosions. As the last orb exploded; Yang, Vile and Axl all fired a simultaneous shot at X. It was clear now they were starting to do damage as X was breathing heavily. X knew it too though.

That made him all the more dangerous.

The group fired another charge shot as one. It sailed across the room in a blaze of orange energy. Only to deflect off X like it was nothing!

"What?" Yang gasped.

X's armour began to glow more powerfully, he was using all of his strength that Xandria had given him now!

"No, no, no!" Ruby panicked, running in to attack again.

Each swing did no damage to X, she may as well have been tickling him with a feather. She paid for her attempt as X blinked in front of her and slashed her three times rapidly in succession.

Jaune leapt in and moved her back just as Ruby was about to collapse from aura exhaustion. He held his shield up to protect them but the buster shots from X pierced through his guard and left the knight in the same predicament as his friend, unable to continue.

A plasma wave attack followed, though aimed at the rest of the group ,taking them by surprise. Most were able to avoid it, save for Neo and Ren. Though the former opened her umbrella shield, it tore through the defence and they both flailed as the attack sent them airborne before crashing back down again.

Using her boosted strength, Yang lifted a large chunk of debris and raised it above her head with difficulty, panting tiredly as she did so.

"Huff..puff... TAKE THIS!"

With all her might, she flung the debris at X. It fell towards him, but a simple punch from X was enough to shatter it completely. The chunks falling back towards the friends. Pyrrha blocked most of them with her shield but a larger stray one got through and smashed against Yang's head, rendering her out of the fight.

Angered, Pyrrha flung her shield at X, using her semblance to control it. He simply boosted himself over it and fired two charged shot s at the Spartan girl. With no shield to defend herself, Pyrrha's aura was sapped from her almost straight away as she fell to her knees.

That just left Ruby, Blake and Weiss as the remaining three team members, though their Reploid friends were also coming to their aid.

"Tenshouha!" X laughed as a rain of energy waves came from the sky and forced Ruby and Weiss to split from Blake.

With the remaining three divided, X cast another Rekkoha right on top of Weiss and Ruby. The girls were unable to escape as the energy attack drained their aura dry and the too fell before the power of X.

Blake stood alone now. Bravely she tried to attack X again, only for her katana to be knocked back, leaving her open. X showed her no mercy as he used Ranbu. A deadly 7 sword slash attack that brought Blake to within an inch of her life, the plasma burning at her aura and flesh.

The final blow landed and Blake fell to her knees, her vision started to blur as she looked up at X's face. She struggled to stay up, wanting to hold on to the hope that she could save him. But weakness overtook her and as she fell forward and slipped away, all she could hear was Xandria... laughing.

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman X8 OST – Option)**_

Lost in the empty darkness of her own mind, Blake lay defeated. She was unconscious, or barely anyway, but she could still hear the sounds of battle as Zero, Axl and Vile made their stand against X.

She heard a few buster shots from Axl's guns, Zero's sabre clashing against armour and Vile flying around and she knew they were putting up a fight. Then she heard the shots again, followed by pained screams. First from Axl, then from Vile and finally Zero as X cut them all down.

That was it then. There was no one else to stop him. They had failed.

It was so surreal. How could it have all gone so wrong so fast. She thought back to the time she had met X. How he had been able to destroy a creature they couldn't even scratch. The joy they all felt when she and her friends realised their hopes of peace were so close.

She remembered meeting Vile for the first time. How it had practically broken X's mind,when he first saw him, yet they had stood victorious over him. Even more than that, he had helped change the killing machine into a force for good.

Dammit! How could it all end like this? They had come so close, Remnant could have had peace! Now it was going to fall to a demented woman with her lust for power. It was all over.

Then she remembered what had taken place at Vile's base. How she had felt at her lowest point when X came for her, and the words he had said to Adam.

" _She's my friend! She may have made mistakes but who hasn't?"_

" _Are you saying your friend is worth dying for?"_ She recalled Adam's spiteful and mocking voice. But it was X's response that resonated within her head.

" _Of course she is."_

Even after all she had done, all that had happened, X had never given up on her. He hadn't given up on Vile, or Ruby when she attacked Zero. He stuck through to the bitter end with everyone he met, because he knew it was the right thing to do. Then the words of his message from so long ago came into her mind.

" _For I believe in the humans, and I know they will do what is right."_

Blake opened her eyes and began to shakily get to her feet. She saw Vile and Axl lying defeated close by, while X was standing above Zero, blade held to his friend's neck. Zero didn't have the strength to move.

But Blake did.

"You never gave up on me, or any of us, X. So I'm not gonna give up on you!"

 _ **(Resume Cannonball Mythos Remix from 2:41)**_

Sprinting forward, Blake fired a pistol shot that clipped X's sword arm, knocking the blade away from Zero's neck. She then readied both katanas and engaged X in a duel.

The first few swings were blocked by X, but a combination of her speed and skills saw her find a gap and gain a few hits against his chest. One blow managed to scratch the green crystal in his centre and X backed off immediately.

"The crystal! That's it!" Blake realised as she identified her target.

Enraged, X fired his rocket boosters with his sword pointing forward. The two collided and Blake strained as X pushed the blade towards her.

Then their looks swapped over as Blake placed her other katana underneath the connection between X's armour and his regular arm. As she held X's sabre down, Blake thrust her other blade upwards, severing the sabre arm off and letting it spiral through the air before landing in between the two of them.

X ran to try and recover the blade as Blake leapt forward with one sword held overhead.

"HIYAH!"

Slamming down on top of X, she landed a critical blow to his back, as evidenced when X held one hand against his chest and was visibly panting for breath. Blake readied both katanas and prepared to strike, hoping to Oum that this her hunch was correct.

The first slash removed the rest of the armour on X's sword arm. The second tore off his extended buster attachments, which clattered to the ground uselessly. With a deep breath, Blake raised her katana and swung once more.

 ***TING** *

The sound of the crystal shattering pierced through the air of the room. Small fragments of green rained down around X's feet. Then came a small explosion, then another, and another. Soon the area was full of them as X held his hands against his head. A final large blast made the room fill with a blinding light and forced them all to look away.

As the light subsided, Blake moved her arm away from her eyes. Her vision was blurry as her eyes had to adjust to the change in the light intensity. As her sight became clear again though, she saw X.

He was just standing there, still. His battle armour littered around him in bits and pieces while his actual body seemed to be perfectly fine.

Cautiously, Blake approached him. Her friends too, all strained to get back up after the pummelling they had taken. They all noticed X there too, but they did not approach. Instead, they let Blake see for herself.

Finally reaching him, Blake looked into his eyes. He was staring straight ahead, not saying a word. Tentatively, Blake placed a hand on his arm.

"X?..." She asked for his attention, unsure if her plan had worked.

X moved his head down to look at her, his face still the same as his eyes moved up and down Blake's form. Did he recognise her? Did he know what was happening? Was he back to the way he was?

Then, as slowly as Blake had, X raised both arms, keeping them open as he did so. The rest of her friends kept their weapons handy, fearful he was going to attack her or something. What happened instead, made their nervous hearts overjoyed.

X placed his arms around Blake and pulled her into a hug. She jumped a little at first but quickly did the same. Blake held on tight to him, embracing the moment of realisation that X was back, and not holding back the tears of joy that flowed as she did so.

"Blake..." X began.

"Thank you... for not giving up on me..."

That only made the two want to hold each other closer still, while the rest of their friends laughed, cheered and hugged each other in celebration.

 _ **(Insert music: Kingdom Hearts 2 OST - Sora)**_

"Amazing! HAHAHA! Simply amazing!" Vile laughed, shaking his head while Neo leapt on his back and squeezed him tightly.

Axl and Zero didn't even look away but gave each other a quick fistbump, content on seeing X being with the one he cared for so much. He had been fighting for so long, they knew he deserved this happiness more than either of them.

Ruby and Nora were practically bouncing off the walls in excitement, laughing and high fiveing each other, while Jaune placed his arm around Pyrrha and held her close as the two enjoyed the happy scene.

Blake and X were perfectly content to stay like this. At least until Yang popped up between them.

"Aw! C'mere you two!" She squeaked, bear hugging both of them and squeezing her cheeks close to theirs.

Of course, once Yang started hugging them, everyone else joined in. Nora and Ruby to start with, followed by the rest of them and finishing with a reluctant Zero who was dragged in by Axl. Even Vile joined in, though he to had been brought in against his will by Neo. Well, he would do this for her, she needed all the happiness she could after the rough lot life had given her.

"YAY! You'rebackyou'rebackyou'reback! Weweresoworriedwedidn'tknowwhathadhappenedtoyou!" Ruby said without stopping for breath.

"Theydidn'thurtyoudoingthatdidthey? Isweari'llbreaktheirlegsiftheydidbuttheimportantthingisyourherenowso-" Nora joined in the hyper active rambling.

"That's...lovely...guys...*gasp*... but i'd...*wheeze* kinda like... to be able... to... breathe please..." Blake gapsed, arms flailing wildly.

"Whoops!" Yang realised as she dropped Blake down and let the blue colour leave her face as oxygen returned to her.

Nora then popped her head in beside Blake's. A little to close in the personal bubble for most, but this was Nora so Blake was used to it.

"Oh Blakey!" Nora sang. "Isn't their something you wanna say to X?"

Blake went bright red and Nora quickly moved back to avoid incurring the Faunus girl's wrath. It was true though, she did need to get this off her chest and now seemed to be the perfect time.

"So...what is it, Blake?"

She took a deep breath and braced herself for the response.

"I... I really wanted to tell you this at the base but... you know... big apocalyptic battle and all. So..."

"What I mean is..."

"What I really want to say is..."

…

"X... I-"

 ***CLANG** *

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman ZX Advent Tunes OST – Ouroborus (Doomsday Event))**_

She was interrupted by the sound of metal clanging, followed by the screech as it moved slowly along ancient pivots and mechanisms.

All of them looked up and saw the already extend panels of Eleos were moving further out above their heads. The distant sound of something powering up could also be heard, the signature low pitch to high pitch whirr filling the air.

"Wait.. where did Xandria go!?" Yang gasped.

Looking to the throne, they all saw Xandria was no longer there.

"Look!" Ruby pointed.

There, ascending up the tower was a small elevator capsule, and looking down at them all with a devious smile on her face, was Xandria. She spoke of a loudspeaker system from the tower.

" _You fools! All of that time spent chasing my minions and trying to get X back has given me the chance I needed! In just a few more minutes, Eleos will be ready to fire! You may defeat me and stop my plans for letting Reploid kind take over, but I will make sure the only world you come back to is a desolate wasteland! GAHAHAHAHAAAAA!"_

"You'll never get away with this Xandria!" Ruby declared. "We've come this far! We aren't going to give up now!"

" _HAHAHA! Try hard, human child! Your future itself depends on it!"_

"We have to go after her!" Ruby said, her teammates nodding in agreement as they all prepared to run after Xandria.

"Hold it!" Zero ordered. "We're barely hanging on by a thread here! None of us are in any condition to fight Xandria!"

The team didn't like to admit it but it was true. They had all just been in the toughest fight of their lives and it showed. Some of them felt they could barely walk, let alone fight.

"Not all of us." Blake said calmly.

 _ **(Insert music: Dark Cloud OST – Stand Up!)**_

Looking over, the team saw X and Blake were both glowing slightly with a blue coloured aura.

"Blake? You took a bigger beating than most of us! How are you able to... OH!" Nora questioned, followed by realisation.

"Someone wanna fill me in?" Axl asked.

"It's their auras." Pyrrha explained. "Their connection to each other. Their auras have been linked! They share each others power, and since X's armour took the damage and not his body, he's able to share his strength with Blake."

"Well that settles it then." Vile stated. "There isn't much else we can do here. We need to head back and prepare to evacuate. X, Blake, the rest is up to you."

X gave a thumbs up as he made his way over to Axl and Zero.

"Listen. Just in case anything happens to me. Take care of yourselves, alright?"

Zero rolled his eyes. "Please, you can't go around dying! That's my job!" He joked.

It certainly lightened the mood as he placed his arms around Zero and Axl's shoulders. They wished him luck in the battle to come before moving back while Blake's friends spoke to her as well.

"Blake!" Ruby said with surprising authority. "As your team leader, I feel I must tell you to come back alive. That's an order!"

"You got it! 'Fearless Leader'" Blake laughed, giving a mock salute to boot.

Yang placed a hand on Blake's shoulder. "Be careful kitty cat. I think you might well be down to your last life!"

"Actually, I think she has three left." Weiss said with a cocky smile.

"Better not take the chance." Yang replied.

"I'll be fine girls. I promise; we'll defeat Xandria and come back safely... And then we can have cookies to celebrate!"

"YAY COOKIES!" Ruby squealed.

Both Blake and X stood in front of the doorway that lead up the tower to the summit, where Xandria was waiting for them. They both seemed very confident, reflected in the looks on their faces.

"You ready to end this?" Blake asked.

"Ready and eager." X answered.

Without any further delay, the two ran in and began the final ascent. At the top they would find Xandria, and from there it would be victory...

...or oblivion.

 _ **GOD DAMNIT WE'RE SO CLOSE! I CAN'T STAND IT!**_

 _ **So the first big battle is done. That just leaves Xandria herself and it's gonna b 1! I like those odds, don't you agree?**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	61. In the Name of Justice

_**Guys...**_

 _ **This is it.**_

 _ **The final battle scene of this story (Save for the extras maybe). Many have fallen for us to be brought to this moment. A story almost a year and a half in the making is reaching it's conclusion. I'll save the soppy thanks stuff for the last chapter. All I want to say now is enjoy, and brace yourselves.**_

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman Legends 2 OST – Elysium Shuttle Bay/Residential Area)**_

X and Blake weren't exactly sure what they had expected upon entering the tower. It was a device designed for projecting a signal from the centre of Neo Arcadia and only then from the highest authority given. In theory, it wouldn't need defence systems, since the requirements to activate ought to prove sufficient.

Needless to say, that wasn't the case now.

The structure of the building seemed to be mostly intact and remained as it was. Well, baring the obvious differences like the energy pulsing through the walls that made them actually vibrate and pulse randomly, not to mention the various cables and pieces of metal that moved as if they were sentient themselves!

"Dear Oum! What... what happened to this place?" Blake asked, flabbergasted at the sight before her.

"Eleos needs a ridiculous amount of power. Theoretically, the systems built should be able to sustain it. But add in 8000 years of wear and tear, coupled with the fact we never completely understood the theories we were dealing with and you get this. Power surges that merge into the superstructure, practically reforming everything it touches. Be careful, I honestly don't know what it's capable of, or if it's not under some influence."

"You think Xandria may have done this on purpose?"

"She knew more about Eleos' potential than anyone else. If she had even the slightest hunch it could cause trouble for us, then I wouldn't put it past her to make a few leaks in the system."

Trying their hardest to ignore the disturbing visuals of the tower, the two pressed onwards. They actually found their progress going fairly smoothly. At least for a short period of time.

They were ascending one of the many ladders required to reach the top since Xandria had taken the more direct route. Blake was at the head of the duo and was first to climb off the ladder and onto their next floor. While X was making his way up though, she noticed something.

A strange purple blur, a short distance in front of her. It seemed to have an effect similar to TV static present within it. She was on guard straight away, drawing her katanas and approaching slowly, her footsteps deliberate and planned.

"Who's there?" She demanded to know.

" _You can't win you know."_

Blake recognised that voice, though she knew it was impossible for her to be hearing it right now.

"R...Ruby?"

The purple static began to take form in the shape of Ruby. It was uncanny how much it looked like her. The same features, size and voice. The only main difference was the purple colouration, an echo in her voice and her body flickering occasionally. It clearly wasn't the real Ruby but, what the hell was it?

" _Just give up, accept your fate!"_

A buster shot from X's cannon passed through the fake Ruby. The image flickered more rapidly and buzzed with static as it faded away into nothingness. Blake took a deep breath, grasping the situation.

"What was that thing?" She asked.

"Exactly what I said it was; energy from Eleos. It's begun taking shape, using data as a basis for it's designs."

"How would Eleos know about us?"

X laughed to himself. "Told you Xandria would be involved."

"She's using her memories of us to create these things." Blake caught on.

"Just ignore them and everything they say." X added. "They can't hurt you, and their words are nothing but lies that Xandria wants you to believe."

"Got it."

Both continued on bravely, but as they drew nearer and near to the summit, the copies became more and more frequent.

" _You've suffered so much, wouldn't it be so easy to just stop here?"_ An image of Weiss said before it was shot aside by Blake.

" _You're only prolonging the inevitable. Just make it easy on yourselves."_ The Ren copy suggested. It's only answer was a sabre slash to the face.

"I know you can hear me Xandria!" Blake shouted up the tower. "Keep your little goons talking, we know how wrong they are!"

Apparently she did hear Blake, as the copies seemed to stop appearing for a while. When they did reappear though, their message was a bit more direct.

" _You're going to fail, and you know what happens when you fail!"_

That line came from a copy of Yang. A Yang that was missing her entire right arm! Even X was caught off guard as he saw the wound, still open and unbandaged, dripping blood onto the floor. Though it looked nowhere near real, it was enough to begin getting through to the two of them. After all, it was X and Blake's failure that had cost Yang her arm.

" _Others suffer because of your weakness!"_ A Pyrrha and Penny copy spoke in unison.

" _And they will do so again."_

That line from a fake Professor Ozpin was enough to make Blake stop and respond to the copies. To hear such damning words from a man who had believed in them so unreservedly, it not only stung at Blake, but made her enraged. She would not let Xandria ruin the good name of their former mentor.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" She screamed.

"You think you can frighten us with false images and taunts. You think we're going to back down because of guilt in our hearts, our supposed weakness. Well let me tell you something. Maybe we did fail, maybe all of this could have been prevented, maybe we could have stopped you before so many lives were lost."

The copies just watched her silently.

"That's what your trying to use against us. You take the losses that you caused, and mask them as our failures, hoping that we will feel the pain of them and call it quits! Well what you failed to see, is how that made us stronger!"

"You took from each of us. We lost mentors, friends... even loved ones."

X couldn't help but notice Blake's expression, and the small quirk in her voice as she said that last one.

"You hoped that by taking them from us, you could make it seem like this whole fight was worthless. When all you did, was make it worth even more to us!"

"Before, we fought because we wanted to see this world live in peace, and we still do. But the moment you took what we cared about, the moment you made it personal, that was the moment that we decided to take a stand. To look at what you had done to us and say: No! We won't let you get away with it! We won't let you do it to anyone else! And to let you know that we would tear down anything that stood in our way, to right the wrongs you have made!"

"So keep throwing your little jests and taunts at us! Keep trying to make us feel something bad about our actions, because every time you do, you only make us stronger! Nothing you do and nothing you say, is going to stop us. We've come this far, Xandria. We won't be denied our justice! And we won't let anyone else we care about become your victims!"

The copies looked at Blake, staring at her and looking her over angrily. With a final leer at her, they all faded away in buzz of static, leaving Blake and X alone with only the ambient humming to accompany them.

X didn't need to read between the lines any more than he had just done to realise what Blake had wanted to say earlier. Not that he could really say it either. Truth be told, this whole feeling was new to him. He had felt something for Blake for a while now, but he had never assumed she would feel the same way. The idea of a Reploid and a Faunus falling for each other. Well, it was rare in X's time but for it to happen now, and to him of all Reploids, it seemed unreal.

"Look, Blake I-"

 ***KA-THUD***

X never got to continue that thought, as small hisses of pressurised gas came out of the floor around them, followed by the audible thud of devices moving. Without warning, the floor beneath them began to rise thought the middle of the tower. Looking above, they saw it was heading towards a bright light at the top, the summit of the tower.

As the lift reached the top, the duo found themselves standing on an open air platform. At the far end of which was Eleos. Or the main part of it at least.

It consisted of a large, blocky obelisk like shape, made entirely of a glass like material. The pillar glowed with a brilliant blue energy, pulsating at rhythmic intervals to reveal various strange symbols and patterns. Encompassing this, about halfway up the structure, was a floating metallic ring. It also glowed with power, rotating slowly and moving up and down the obelisk at a gentle speed.

Impressive and important as this was though, the teams focus was on who stood in front of it.

Xandria stood there, waiting for them in a different attire from before. She wore silver plate armour with the Neo Arcadia logo at the centre of her chest. The headpiece had spiky protrusions made to look like a crown of sorts, with a spiked pauldron on her right shoulder, though not on her left. Her arms carried much larger, oblong pieces of armour, leading to a set of spiked gauntlets. The only under armour that was visible was around her thighs and hips, those being similar on colour to X's cyan armour. Her legs and feet were also adorned with silver armour, and a set of greaves that had smaller spikes on the top of each toe section.

"I have been waiting for you. Both of you."

She spoke to them from across the room, as both Blake and X moved forward to meet her.

"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this. The use of Eleos is something I would not wish upon my planet. My people could have made great use of your technologies, upgrading them to our standards and using them to help this world prosper. Alas, since the three Maverick Hunters have chosen to side with you Miss Belladonna, things have become far more complicated."

"Though I will not bring Reploids into this world in the same fashion I had hoped to, I will still be able to purify this world. Humanity, Faunus and all other pestilences will be removed. Not even the Grimm, my primal yet loyal soldiers will survive. The world must be made clean once again, so that Reploid kind may bring it to it's full potential."

"Of course, I cannot make use of the device with you two trying to stop me. I listened to your little speech, the one you gave to the copies and I must say I am impressed. Were you a Reploid, I would almost consider you worthy of our new world! Such determination and bravado are welcome traits for a warrior such as yourself. Sadly, those words will prove to be nothing more than that; false bravado!"

"It wasn't just words, Xandria! It was a promise!" Blake stated.

"Hmph! A promise that will be broken! All it has served to do is prove to me that you cannot be reasoned with, even when the truth is right before you, you blind yourself to it. Your pitiful emotions drive you onwards, and it seems even X's pure Reploid soul has become corrupted with them. Had you walked away, Eleos could have ended you quickly."

Xadria began floating above the ground as energy weapons powered up on her armour.

"Instead, you will be made to suffer before you become the first sacrifices in the name of my new world! Come Blake, X! Show me what a legendary Maverick Hunter, and his legacy are capable of!"

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman X5 – X vs Zero Remix by Anjer)**_

Xandria began her assault. Casting a glowing red energy barrier over herself, she charged at X and Blake. Both managed to roll out of the way of the attack, though it scorched the floor beneath where they had stood, smouldering with small flames flickering along it's path.

The duo opened fire at Xandria. Despite her armour making her incredibly durable for the fight, it also rendered he mobility non-existent, save for the times she used abilities. She heard the sounds of impact as both buster shot and bullet hit against the back of her armour.

Holding her arms out, Xandria conjured forth five diamond shaped objects which floated above her head. Throwing both arms forward, they all shot downwards and exploded on impact like missiles. Switching to Jaune's weapon form, X created a holographic shield and stood in front of Blake. Each one exploded on the shield but did no damage to the duo.

"Just die!" Xandria shouted.

She moved back and summoned several drones. The looked like Pantheon heads, with the signature glowing red eye illuminating their faces. Upon her command, the drones began to float towards X and Blake. The former aimed his buster and tried to shoot them down, only to have the drones zip to the side each time a shot came near them. They moved in closer and X braced himself for their attack.

But it never came.

With blistering speed, Blake leapt into the fray, bisecting the first drone down the middle with one of her katanas. Another two came, one from each side and were stabbed through the eye simultaneously by a blade each. Then one tried a sneak attack from behind, using it's eyes as a blaster to try and shoot Blake in the back.

 ***PEW** *

Blake leapt backwards and flipped over the shot and the drone. Landing behind her attacker, she grabbed hold of it and punched her other hand through it's rear covering. She felt around and found a small lever like device inside. Clasping her finger around it, she aimed the drone at one of it's friends and squeezed the trigger. The drone was clearly not prepared to be attacked as the blaster shot whizzed straight through it and tore through it's eye, leaving the orb to tumble to the floor.

The rest of the drones swarmed together and dived at Blake, hoping to overwhelm her with their sheer numbers. Grouping up though, was a very big mistake. Blake took her hand out of the drone and wrenched some wires out in the process. The unit began to shake and buzz uncontrollably. When the swarm was just in range, Blake threw the drone right at them. In response, the swarm fired to destroy the obstacle in their path.

A gigantic explosion engulfed them all, obliterating every drone sent out as Blake tossed the removed power limiter in her hand with a smug grin on her face.

Xandria growled lightly but tried to remain composed. Ascending higher, she held both arms to the sides and cast her next move.

"Blade Storm!"

Several large, triangular blades with long thin handles began to fall from the ceiling. It wasn't hard to avoid them all, the drop shadows showed where X and Blake could safely stand, and they did so as the blades embedded themselves in the floor.

"That the best you can do?" Blake taunted.

Xandria looked at Blake with the same smug look she had received from the Faunus just moments ago.

"I was just setting everything up!" She giggled.

Creating a giant orb above her, Xandria began letting it shoot small electrical shots all across the room. Again, they would be easily avoided. What happened when the two were combined proved far worse though.

A shot hit one of the blades, which began to crackle with electricity.

"Blake! Jump!" X warned, leaping up and activating his dash boots to sustain height a little longer.

Blake wasn't aware of the situation though and she dawdled for too long. The blade that had been hit sent all it's energy to the base of the blade right in the floor. As soon as it reached that point, the entire floor became electrified, and Blake was still standing on it.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Blake screamed as the electrical current coursed through her, making her body spasm as it did so.

"NO!" X cried.

Thinking quickly, he changed to Ruby's form, morphing his buster into a powerful sniper rifle. Taking aim down the sights, he fired a single shot that went right through the blade that was electrified, shattering it into tiny fragments and stopping Blake's torture.

The Faunus fell to one knee and tried to catch her breath. Looking at X, she saw him trying to shoot each of the blades before they could become electrified. A losing battle of course given their numerous amount. The only option was to go for the source.

With out hesitation, Blake jumped up towards the orb that was firing the electrical shots. It was far above her normal jump height, so she made use of her copies to gain altitude. Casting the first beneath her to hold her foot while she leapt off it, followed by another to wing her back around and throw her higher still. Bringing a final clone into existence, she placed the sole of foot against the sole of her copy's and the two began to run in unison, each using the other as a surface to run along.

Finally reaching the orb, Blake dismissed her clone and brought out both katanas. With nothing held back, she tore into the orb, leaving huge slash marks all across it's surface. The orb stopped for a moment; only to explode in a sea of purple fire and Blake was in range of it.

She tried to focus her aura as best she could, as well as throwing several clones out in front to block as much of the wave as possible. Though it was somewhat effective, she still felt the flames burning her skin even through the clones, as well as those that whipped around the side a whipped her with a red hot edge.

As it finally subsided, Blake and X came back down to the floor, though Blake was worse for wear. She was badly scalded and scorch marks covered her body. Some parts of her clothes were burnt through, the red hot embers still glowing around the edges of the tears in some places. She wiped her mouth a panted heavily. It was difficult but she had to do this.

Despite the beating that Blake had taken, it seemed that she and X were on the verge of victory. As Xandria moved closer to them, they could see that her armour bore no real physical damage, but that it's power was running low having been used for the immense attacks thus far.

A point perfectly demonstrated as she made her next move. Firing a blast into the ground, Xandria began to levitate large chunks of rock in the air. They carried the same feeling of power as her armour, to the point where one could almost feel the energy being drained from the armour into the rocks. With a much more effort infused wave, the rocks began to fall.

"Remember when you told me about your fight with Torchwick in the Paladin?" X asked.

"Yeah?"

"Wanna try that trick again?" X smiled.

Blake knew exactly what he was talking about. X jumped back and changed to Weiss' form. He then cast a glyph underneath Blake; golden in colour with several ticking clocks inside the circle of the glyph. She began to glow with power. Twirling both katanas in her hands, Blake swung one out towards one of the falling rocks.

"HRYAH!"

A purple crescent wave shot out of the katana and split the rock in half as smoothly as a hot knife through butter. It's pieces fell to the side and crumbled to dust before even reaching the floor. Blake repeated the action for each rock, feeling the boosted strength and power through her body.

The final boulder fell towards her. Firing out a ribbon, Blake wrapped the end of it around the rock and pulled hard. She spun around with it, slowly gaining control of it's momentum and trajectory. With immaculate timing, she released the ribbon and sent the boulder back at her attacker.

"UWAH!" Xandria wheezed.

As the returned projectile hit her directly in the chest where her armour power core was located, she began to spark gently as the device was damaged and meant she was no longer operating at maximum capacity. Not that that would stop her however.

"So eager to live in the past." She snarled. "Only fitting that you die by it!"

Xandria moved back and held her hands together, almost as if she was praying to something. Her hands then started to glow with a purple, static filled aura. The same aura the copies had been made from earlier!

Indeed it turned out to be just that. A flickering of purple nearby began to morph into a humanoid shape. The figure appeared wearing a short dress, high heels with an anklet on one foot and had long wavy hair that covered one of her glowing eyes.

"Cinder!?"

The copy of Cinder held out an arm fired a wave of flame at our heroes. Both of them ducked in the nick of time, feeling the intense heat over their heads. As soon as the attack was cast, Cinder was gone and another took her place.

Directly above the heroes position, a copy of Adam appeared with Wilt held firmly downwards in both hands. Blake and X barely had a moment to dash aside as the copy stabbed downwards, his samurai sword piercing the metal floor before vanishing into memory.

"Now what?" X wondered.

What was next was a man in a long trench coat with a cane and a very stylish bowler hat with feather in the top of it. Roman's copy aimed his cane and fired three rockets in rapid succession. As X and Blake ran from the salvo of projectiles, the next copy appeared. That of Emerald before she had been captured by Sigma.

She rushed towards the duo with her scythes held high. Blake used her katanas in defence and held them upright as a physical barrier to the scythes. She heard the clang of metal hitting metal as the weapons were pushed outwards and the copy phased right through her.

X chose instead to slide low, passing underneath Emerald before Blake had made contact with her. It was just as well X didn't look back to see if Blake was all right, else he wouldn't have seen the copy of Mercury also sliding in to meet him halfway. Thinking quickly, X changed to Yang's form and fired a flame blast at the floor, propelling himself upwards and letting the copy Mercury go by without incident.

The attack finally ceased and Xandria let her arms flop to her sides. She was completely exhausted, having used up almost all her power in the attempt on X and Blake's lives. This was a chance that could not be allowed to pass.

"X!"

"On it!"

The two split up, with X going right and Blake going left. X began charging his buster while Blake cast a clone in front of herself and launched skyward. Whistling through the air, she started to come back down towards Xandria with katana blade ready. With one mighty slash, she carved an opening in Xandria's chest through the armour, revealing her already weakened power core.

"Here we go!" X shouted.

Dashing in the opposite direction as Blake and by Xandria as well, X fired a charged buster shot through the opening Blake had made, ensuring he landed a direct hit on Xandria's energy core.

The self proclaimed Reploid ruler's pupils shrunk and shook as she gave a sharp gasp for breath.

"Not bad... heroes..."

Xandria's core began exploding rapidly. They started out contained to the core itself, but quickly consumed her whole body and began enveloping the area around her, forcing both X and Blake to turn away from the blast. When they turned back around, the found the area where Xandria had been to be nothing but a gaping chasm in the floor.

"We... we did it? It's over?" Blake gasped in disbelief.

"Almost. Eleos is still active! We need to shut it down before the firing sequence is triggered! Come on!"

X sprinted over to the Eleos command system they had seen earlier, with Blake following suit. She was in a far worse state though, limping slowly behind X and holding one arm in pain, barely able to move it. She shuffled up beside X, who was typing furiously into the system to activate the shut down command.

"Five minutes until firing. I can shut it down in time!" He laughed with relief and joy.

As X began executing the command cycle, Blake's ears twitched. She had heard something, something that she shouldn't have. Without warning, she pulled X down by the shoulders. Just in time to avoid an energy shot that would have torn through him.

The both covered their eyes as they felt the shards of glass and metal from the control terminal fly across the room, a few pieces bouncing off their bodies as they looked back and saw an unwelcome sight.

"No... No! This isn't over yet!"

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman Zero 4 Remastered OST – Ragnarok)**_

Rising up from the crevice in the floor, was Xandria. At least what was left of her anyway. Her arms were both gone, exposed wiring shown in their place as well as one of her legs missing. The artificial skin on the right side of her face had been torn off, revealing a glowing red robotic eye and exposing a set of imitation teeth. Her energy core section still sparked and flickered occasionally but still had enough power to keep her going, barely.

"Xandria!" X cried, alarmed that she was still alive.

"Hehehehehe! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! I told you I would leave this world barren and uninhabitable for all human and Faunus kind. Now nothing can stop Eleos from firing!"

"She destroyed the terminal, X!" Blake realised in a panic. "We can't shut it down now! We can't stop it!"

X was in the same state. They had come so close to saving the world, how could they be denied now? There had to be a way! X racked his thought processors, thinking of all possible solutions.

His face dropped as he realised there was a way. A way that no one would be happy with but it was the only way. Opening a compartment on his arm, X removed a small chip from it and held it firmly in his grasp as he told Blake his plan.

"No, there is a way." He explained.

"We can't shut down Eleos, but there is nothing to stop me from destroying it! If we destroy Eleos core here, the energy feedback will be enough to disable the entire device. With Eleos gone, it no longer poses a threat!"

"So we can destroy this whole place, and Xandria! But... then we'll be..." Blake's voice lowered as she realised what this plan would mean for them.

"HAHAHAHA! How poetic!" Xandria laughed. "X and the one he truly hoped to save, will die together!"

"No! We won't!" X shouted back.

"What are you talking about? It's the only way!" Blake protested.

X laughed to himself and sighed.

"You're gonna hate me for this."

Before Blake knew what was happening, she felt X's arm around her, pulling her in close to him. She opened her mouth to speak, only to feel another pair of lips stopping her. Her eyes went wide as she realised what was happening. X was kissing her! Her mind was going through hundreds of thoughts every second. How the idea of him being a Reploid and her being a Faunus really didn't matter any more. How surprisingly soft and warm his lips actually were, synthetic or not. But most importantly, she realised this meant X felt exactly the way she did! And it was that feeling that caused her heart to nearly burst out of her chest in joy!

After what seemed like too short a time, they broke off from the kiss, X gently placing a hand upon Blake's cheek as she smiled at him with tears of joy in her eyes.

"Now why on Remnant would I hate you for that?" She laughed.

X's smile faded into a look of sadness.

"Oh you won't hate me for that. You'll hate me for this."

Looking down on confusion, Blake found the chip that X had been holding was attached to her weapon. X must have put it their while she wasn't looking! With a look of pain upon his face, X pressed a button on his buster arm.

"What are you-" Blake began, interrupted as she teleported away in a beam of blue light.

 **Back at the ship**

Vile tapped his wrist, mimicking a watch being pointed at as the soldiers, Team RWY, Team JNPR, Zero, Axl and Neo all boarded the Bullheads. Winter had been smart enough to realise they would need an escape and so stored a few in the hold of the ship they crashed in.

"Let's go! Come on! Today would be nice!" Vile hurried them up, gesturing to the troops to get in.

"No need to rush, Vile!" Zero argued. "We're still wating on X and-"

Then a blue beam came down from the ceiling, nearly blinding all present. When it faded away, the friends saw a familiar face there.

"-Blake?" Zero finished.

Shocked, Blake stood straight up and looked around at where she was, and realised what X had done.

"No! We have to go back up there!" She exclaimed.

Reaching for her scroll, she opened a link with X. he answered, his expression still full of sadness, making Blake see that he really didn't want to do what he had just done.

"Told you you'd hate me for it." He joked.

"You better get me back up there right now, X! You hear me? You can't face her alone! I... I can't lose you!" She snarled, which soon gave way to barely contained sobs.

"And I can't lose you either!" X replied. "I didn't want it to end this way. I wanted to be with you Blake, wanted to live in peace and enjoy this world with you."

"We still can! Just let me back up there! We can find a way together, we can still shut down Eleos, we can do it! Please! * **Sob** * Don't leave me!"

"I'm sorry, Blake." X responded. "But this isn't your fight. It never was. I made mistakes a long time ago. Mistakes that have cost you and the people of this world so dearly. You and your people have suffered long enough because of my failures... It's time I put them right."

The screen went to black as X ended the call.

"You can't... you.. can't..." Blake whimpered before crying out her beloveds name, whether he could hear it or not.

"X!"

 _ **Tower Summit**_

"MWAHAHAHA!" Xandria cackled. "Typical X, even giving up his loved one in the name of justice."

From the hole in the floor where Xanria floated above, several energy cables shot out. They began piercing into Xandria's remaining body, some even going right through! They clearly caused her great pain as she grit her teeth throughout the process, but still smiled sadistically all the way through. A bright flash came as she transformed, the power of Eleos being too much to contain.

And what a sight it was.

X beheld a gigantic, angel like figure. Robotic angel wings filled the sky and were attached to a body made of beautiful golden armour. Xandria's face was covered with a golden faceplate with no markings on it. Her eyes were still visible but glowed pure white with power. Her arms were large and claw like, with energy crystals in the centre of her palms. Her chest had a red crystal similar to X's in it and below that was nothing but a sea of cables that extended down into the tower through the hole they had come from. A glowing halo appeared above Xandria's head and golden energy waves flowed from the back of her head. They were exhaust materials from the halo but the looked like thick wavy locks of hair upon the angel.

X was not afraid. Readying his buster, he spoke to Xandria.

"I did all I could in the name of justice, and even now what I do is for justice for this world. The suffering you've brought to everyone on this planet, it must be repaid for in kind. But know this! I'm not doing this simply for justice. I'm doing this for the ones I care about, the ones I want to protect, and especially for the one I love! I may die here along with you, but I know that my sacrifice will mean that my friends, my family, and the one I hold dearest, will still live!"

"For their sake, for the world's sake! I'll finish this, right here, right now! I WILL DEFEAT YOU XANDRIA!"

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman Zero 4 Remastered OST – Falling Down)**_

The final battle began with Xandria removing her hands from the angel body. One floated high in the air, pointing down at the ground while the other moved in behind X, both keeping track of his position. Alternately, they fired energy ring attacks at X that were slow moving yet large.

Realising their timing and pattern, X moved around the first shot from above. Then came one from the floor but he was in the perfect position to avoid it. Firing his dash boosters vertically, X propelled himself over the shot. Another fell towards him from the hand above. Dashing to the side, he landed on the front of Xandria's angelic form and slid down it like he was climbing a normal wall, letting the shot miss him completely.

The final shot from the hand below was aimed directly at him and, by extension, Xandria. X waited in position on the front of the angel and let the shot fly towards him. With no way around it now, X did the next best thing. Firing his dash boosters, he dived through the centre of the energy ring. His shoulders were grazed but no real damage was done.

Landing back down, he saw Xandria's angel from writhe in pain as the ring hit her in the chest, the holy entity clutching the wound as power began to gather inside it.

"Be purified!" The ethereal voice said.

A gigantic beam shot out from the angel's chest, travelling for many miles off the tower and into the horizon. Slowly, the angel body began to move lower, bringing the attack closer to X's position. Charging up a buster shot, he fired it at the crystal moments before the laser reached him. The energy feedback forced the beam to deactivate and allowed X a chance to move.

As the laser charged up to fire again, X jumped up and grabbed onto Xandria's halo, dangling from it as she moved back up. The laser whirred up and fired again at the spot where X was prior, disintegrating anything that remained there.

"Unhand me, corrupted filth!"

The halo that X held onto was filled with a powerful electrical current, forcing X to relinquish his grip upon it and sending him back to the floor below.

Xandria now put both hands together, one placed on top of the other. Moving them carefully apart, she began forming a spherical crystal made of absolute zero ice. She threw it outwards, letting the creation rotate as it moved. As it did so, large daggers of ice were shot out in each of the eight compass directions.

Switching to Yang's form, X fired a charged gauntlet shot, creating a sphere of his own made from fire. He sent it upwards, letting it float slowly into the path of the ice sphere. Just before the two collided, the fire sphere exploded with an intense heat. Steam hissed and filled the air as the two attacks cancelled each other out.

Now it was X's turn to attack. He changed to Pyrrha's form and began creating a magnetic orb nearby. All of the pieces of ruined metal and debris started to orbit the magnetic centre, swirling around it and moving closer to it's pull. As the pieces began to move closer though, X did something rather unexpected.

Using his influence upon the orb, he flung across the room, right on top of Xandria's body. Naturally, she scoffed at his attempt as her construction was more than stable enough to avoid being pulled apart by simple magnetic forces. That was not X's aim though.

The pieces that had followed the orb continued to do so. The first was a surprise to Xandria as a large clang was heard from the debris hitting against her armour, trying in vain to get through to the orb at her centre. Following suit, the other pieces all latched onto her, restricting her movement as she tried to remove them with her hands.

Unable to do anything about the attack, X moved back and made his final move with this form. He focused his control of the orb and ordered it to contract. This did indeed happen, but made the magnetic sphere incredibly unstable in the process. As the forces of attraction were mirrored with extreme intensity, Xandria felt each part of her angel form come under stress from the wave of magnetic feedback. The metallic debris fell off her as the orb was destroyed, allowing her free movement again but after taking extreme damage.

For her next strike, Xandria's excess halo energy, her hair of sorts, began to float outwards around her. It then pointed towards X and began striking at him, piercing the ground as though the hair was a physical material as strong as diamond!

X rolled out of the way of the first two hits. Getting back to his feet, he stumbled slightly as the next hit just behind his heels. Another landed in front of him with one more behind, trying to sandwich him in place for a killing blow. Thinking quickly, he grabbed onto the one in front of him and began swinging around it like a pole, allowing him to dodge the final stab.

Dismounting from the makeshift pole, he fired a single shot at Xandria's halo. It shattered into thousands of glowing fragments, as did the hair shortly after, clearing the battlefield once more.

Xandria moved in low, looking at X with those empty white eyes. Beautiful, yes, but with a hidden outrage beneath them.

"Your time has ended, X! The age of Human and Faunus is over! It is time for a new age to begin! An age where metal rules over flesh, the age of Reploids!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" X replied.

"We have always been more powerful! Allow me to remind you so!"

Xandria made the same praying motion she had in the first battle. Holding the pose for a moments, she threw her arms aside and called out.

""Arise, my servants! Show this heretic the folly of his ways!"

Eight beams of light shone down and gave way to reveal eight new enemies. This time though, none were from the villains that Team RWBY had faced.

X beheld the long forgotten memories as husks of the original eight Mavericks appeared around him. Chill Penguin, Flame Mammoth, Storm Eagle, Sting Chameleon, Boomer Kuwanger, Launch Octopus, Armoured Armadillo and Spark Mandrillwere all present in the same form as X had defeated them in.

Chill Penguin fired off a shotgun ice attack at X. Thinking fast, X hoped back and moved behind Spark Mandrill, using him as a shield of sorts. The ape was instantly frozen solid by the attack and X used it to his advantage. Kicking the frozen Maverick forward, it slid along the ground and smashed into Chill penguin, carrying him with it until both hit the wall on the other side of the room before they exploded in a ball of flame.

Kuwanger dashed up to X and tried to impale him with his horns. A futile effort as X caught him by the horns mid stab. He then threw the beetle Reploid at Sting Chameleon, impaling the lizard through the chest.

As Kuwanger tired to pull himself free, Launch Octopus fired off some homing torpedoes. They whirled off to the side, acquiring their target and looping back around to hit X. The old tracking systems were flawed though, as X let them decide their final trajectory before moving aside, letting them explode on the trapped Kuwanger and Sting Chameleon instead.

From out of the fireball, Kuwanger's horn piece fell beside X. He quickly picked it up and flung it at Launch Octopus. A flurry of cutting sounds were heard as the metal was torn through. Octopus stood still for a few seconds as each of his tentacles fell off and clattered to the ground, after which he too fell forward, destroyed.

That just left three in the form of Storm Eagle, Armoured Armadillo and Flame Mammoth.

X changed to Yang's weapon and fired a gauntlet punch to launch himself into the air. He was heading for Storm Eagle and landed upon the Reploids back as he flew around. The bird of prey tried to shake X off by doing various flips and rolls but X held on tight. Finally in position, X destroyed the servo of Eagle's wings and the bird began spiralling out of control. At the last possible moment, X leapt of Eagles back and let the old enemy nosedive into the ground, destroying him on impact.

The final two prepared to face X. Armadillo curled up and began spinning in a ball. He then flung himself at X, who promptly turned and began running away from the attack in a deadly game of tag. X had an idea though.

Moving towards Flame Mammoth, the giant Reploid raised a foot in preparation to crush X under his heel. X seemed all too happy to move closer to the foot and Armadillo followed, unaware of the threat above. Once in position, Flame Mammoth slammed his foot down where X was.

Just a little too late.

 ***SMASH** *

the sound of metal being crushed filled the room as X passed by Flame Mammoth and Armoured Armadillo was squashed underneath the weight of the fire Reploid's foot. He was slow to realise his mistake, and that moments thought was all X needed.

Turning back around, X dashed and reached top speed in a mere second. He then drew his sabre and dived forward with the blade held in front of him. Flame Mammoth shuddered as he felt his body being torn through and X was in front of him, facing away on one knee. Looking down, Flame Mammoth saw a large hole had been cut right through him from one side to the other. With a small groan, the giant tumbled backwards, dead.

X turned back to Xandria as she fell down low. As before, this attack had taken much of the energy out of her and she was vulnerable. It was a risk she had been willing to take to see X destroyed, but it had not paid off.

"How? How can you do this when you know how much pain it will bring your friends?" She asked.

"You could spare them this pain, you could have lived together in our new world. I am hateful of humans but I am not blind. I could seethe power they held, the potential for them to help us better ourselves. Now though, if you destroy me, they will suffer the loss of you, X. Is that what you want?"

X shook his head sadly.

"This isn't about what I want, Xandria. It never has been. I don't fight because I want to, I don't fight because it's fun. I sure as hell don't do it because it's easy because it never is! I fight because it's the right thing to do."

"It may be difficult at times. Sometimes it even feels impossible, and there is never any guarantee that I or those who fight with me will come out alive. But I know that if I don't take a stand, fight for what is right, then more will suffer as a result."

Xandria tried to push herself up as she spoke again, heaving as her gigantic form weighed her down.

"We could have made our people strong, X. We could have prospered and brought this world into a new golden age. Isn't that what you want? To see Reploids living on in peace?"

"I do." X admitted. "But not through the destruction of others. Stopping suffering by making others suffer is not how I want to see my people live. Reploids will prosper, my friends will see to that. But they will do so through peaceful means."

"Hahaha...Then we have nothing more to discuss." Xandria laughed to herself. "Do what you will, X. Just brace yourself for the pain you will cause."

Xandria didn't try to move away any more. She simply moved her arms aside and let the crystal remain as a target for X. Sadly and with a shaking arm, X moved his buster up and aimed it a the crystal. His arm shook as it charged with energy, ready to fire.

"Blake..." He said to night air. "I'm sorry..."

He fired.

 **On board the Bullhead – Neo Arcadia Perimeter**

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Blake asked impatiently.

"If I fly her any faster she'll fly apart!" The pilot protested.

"FLY IT APART THEN! WE NEED TO GET TO X!"

Ruby placed a hand on Blake's shoulder.

"Calm down, Blake! We can't get there any faster, no matter how much we want to. All we can do is prepare ourselves for what we're going to face when we get there, so let's just-"

The Bullhead veered off course as it was pushed back by a shock wave of almighty power. The teams shielded their eyes from the blinding light. Looking back to see the top of the tower was in flames, the remains of a mushroom cloud spiralling upwards as huge pieces of the infrastructure tumbled down the sides, rumbling in the distance.

They all froze in shock. Pyrrha and Jaune holding each other tightly, as did Ren and Nora. Ruby placed both hands over her mouth, tears leaking out as she realised what had happened.

While Blake just stood in silent shock, watching the fire burn.

"X..." Zero spoke solemnly into his comm link. "Do you copy?"

 _BZZT...BZZ..BZZ...BZZT._ Was the only sound as static filled the line.

"X... please respond!" Zero repeated.

 _BZZT...BZZ..BZZ...BZZT._

"No..." Blake said softly, before she fell to her knees and let her tears flow.

 _ **WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY?**_

 _ **Xandria has been defeated, the battle is won. But at a great cost? Is this where I leave the story? What is to happen in the aftermath?**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	62. Epilogue Everlasting Peace?

_**Patch Island, Xiao Long Residence – 3 Weeks Later**_

The morning sun rose over the peaceful forest setting where the house of Ruby and Yang was located. Since Beacon had been destroyed, the girls had needed to move back in with their father; Tai-Yang until further notice.

The ambient noises of the peaceful natural environment began to wake up the inhabitants of the house. Small birds flew by the window on their way to the grassy plains, looking for an early morning meal. They weren't the only ones.

Ruby lay curled up in her duvet. She wore a black tank top with a pink, heart shaped version of a Grimm face on the front and white pyjama bottoms with images of roses all over them. She also donned a black sleeping mask with red marks designed to look like Grimm eyes.

She slept peacefully, occasionally mumbling happily about cookies with a goofy smile on her face.

"Sis! You up yet?" Yang called from her room.

"*Groan*... Not now Mr. Freckles..." Ruby mumbled.

Still half asleep, she turned over onto her front and reached for her pillow. Finding it, she pulled the soft bundle over her head.

"Ruby! Come on, you gotta get up!" Yang called again.

"Noooooo..." Ruby whined. "Am still sleepy..."

She quickly buried herself further underneath the covers like a fortress, the warm duvet providing a comforting barrier from the cold and nowhere near as cosy world outside her bed.

"Zwei! Go get her boy!"

"RUFF!"

Ruby's ears pricked up upon hearing the name. The dreaded fluff bundle was coming! He who had made Weiss heart of ice melt! He who must be called a good boy! The fluffiest of puppers was approaching to make sure Ruby got up. A dirty tactic from Yang, but one that was 100% effective.

With a yip, Zwei came bounding into the room and ran up to Ruby's bed. Despite her fortress of comfort, Zwei found a small gap at the foot of her bed and promptly leapt into it. He shuffled his way up the tunnel of snugness until he found himself next to the face of his owner. Gently biting the top of the eye mask, he pulled it off Ruby's head, discarding it to the side.

" _Commencing wakeup tactic. Codename: Kisses."_ Zwei thought to himself.

As the name suggested, Zwei moved up to Ruby's face and began licking her repeatedly. First her nose, which garnered a giggle from the teen, followed by the cheeks. She was soon in fits of laughter and wide awake, not that that would make Zwei stop.

"Hahahaha! I'm up, I'm up, knock it off!" She protested.

" _Doesn't matter! Having fun!"_ Zwei thought as he continued.

"You win, you win! I'm getting up!" Ruby laughed, kicking the duvet off herself and lifting Zwei up above her.

The tables were then turned as she rolled over and lay Zwei down on the bed before proceeding to give him tummy tickles. The dog panted in joy and tried to wriggle away.

"Oh no you don't! Revenge!" Ruby gave mock evil laugh.

Yang popped her head around the door, already fully dressed and ready to go. She shook her head but smiled as the two played around.

"Alright Zwei, that's enough! Ruby has to get ready."

She patted her thigh and whistled for the dog to come over to her. It happily obliged and wandered around her legs before plonking itself down beside her, looking up at her happily.

"You better hurry up, sis. We still need to pick up Weiss on the way and we really don't want to be late."

"Okey dokie!" She grinned, hopping up off the bed and reaching for her usual outfit. As Yang was leaving though, Ruby called her once again, in a more hushed tone this time.

"Yang. You think this time it'll work?"

The older sister's smile fell slightly, though you could tell she was still trying to stay positive, if not for Ruby then for herself at least. With a sigh, she gave a shrug and moved away from the door. It wasn't the answer Ruby had hoped for, but it was all she could expect. Forced to be satisfied with the response, she closed the door and got herself ready.

Making her way down the stairs, Ruby moved into the kitchen and found her bag already sitting on the table waiting for her. It was already packed with a full lunch and some sweet treats for the day ahead. The delicious smell of the food still filled the room, making her mouth water a little bit. The benefits of having a dad who can actually cook! (Not something this author would know about!)

"You girls ready to go?" Tai-Yang asked.

He was relaxing on the sofa watching the news reports with Zwei sitting beside him. The loving father gently ruffled the dogs hair as he relaxed, waiting for his daughters to answer.

The news was giving a more in depth report into the events that had taken place over the past few months. With the battle over and initial celebrations passed, they were looking more into the lives of the people who had been affected by the disasters, but also those who had been saved.

Ruby had to give an internal 'sqee' of joy when she saw the little refugee girl being interviewed. Moving up and leaning on the back of the sofa, she listened carefully to the report.

" _So you know Miss Rose personally?"_ The reporter asked, kneeling down to get to the little girls height.

" _Yeah! I met her when we first came to Patch Island. I thought she was one of the Maidens but she said she wasn't._

" _And you believe her?"_

The girl shook her head.

" _Nope! I know she's a Maiden! Her and her friends! No one else could do what they did!"_

Ruby's smile would have gotten even bigger, were it possible to do so. Others came on the news too. Hawk and Yellowjacket were there, telling the tale of how they fought the Mamoo XL, the Paladin commander told of the charge against the enemy cannons, as well as a family telling of how the team had helped evacuate the city when Sigma attacked.

Everything was going so well, the world looked to be on the road to recovery and peace. There was only one thing missing, and that's exactly where Ruby and Yang were heading off to hopefully fix.

"Oh, Dad! You packed a spare for my friend, didn't you?" Ruby asked.

"Yup. One sushi special, just like you requested."

Ruby leaned in a gave her dad a hug before moving to the door and following Yang out. As soon as they had shut the door, the girls were greeted by the sight of a private Schnee vessel waiting for them. There was even a butler there to escort them on board! The two quickly got on and sat down as the ship rose into the air and began making it's way to the Schnee family mansion.

As the ship passed by, Ruby took a good long look out of the windows. Far below, she could see the remains of the city that Sigma, Emerald and Mercury had destroyed. Their wasn't much left but she could make out the people gathering up what they could. Soldiers were helping out and construction crews had already erected scaffolding and had begun laying the foundations for new buildings.

Ruby smiled at the thought. Those people may have suffered loss and hardship, but they would be able to return home. It might just take a little longer than they thought. It warmed her heart to see the people united in their recovery effort. People from all walks of life; be they military, shopkeepers, Hunters, office workers, it didn't matter. Even the distinction of Faunus and Human seemed insignificant now they had worked together to ensure their survival. Even in the midst of the destruction, it had brought about something wonderful.

The engines of the ship began to whirr down as they approached the Schnee mansion. On the landing pad, Weiss was already waiting for them, her own bag on her back and her arms folded as she tapped her foot impatiently. She marched aboard as soon as the door was opened.

"Late as usual, Ruby?" Weiss scolded.

"I have explained this until I am blue in the face. Bed; comfy, warm, snug, impossible to resist!" Ruby motioned each step with her hands as she tried to justify her actions.

Weiss clearly didn't have the patience to argue about such a simple matter. With a roll of her eyes, she sat down with her friends as the ship took off again.

The girls were just settling down as they went en route to their destination, when they heard the roar of jet engines. To their surprise, two Atlesian fighter's were flying alongside them, one on each wing.

"What is going on?" Weiss asked.

" _Just a standard escort procedure, Miss Schnee."_ A familiar voice said.

"Wait..." Ruby thought before realising who it was. "Hawk?"

" _The one and only! Good to see you girls again, especially since I never really got to say thank you for your help during our little fight. That was some plan from you all, guess it's why Winter recommended you to us."_

"It's good to see you again but why the escort? I thought the battle was over?" Yang wondered.

" _Ah just your usual health and safety precautions."_ Hawk motioned with a wave of his hand.

" _We're pretty sure we got all of the garrison in Neo Arcadia but the governments don't want to take any chances with ships that have to fly over the zone. Anyway, your coming out of the restricted airspace now so I gotta break off. See you around, kiddos!"_

With that, Hawk rolled to the side and banked away from the ship, getting a round of applause from Ruby for his stunt.

" _Pffft... Show off."_ The other pilot said as he moved to follow.

" _Jealous much?"_ Hawk joked as the two flew away, leaving the girls a little more time to focus on other thoughts as they neared their destination.

 _ **Schnee Robotics Specialist Division HQ**_

Zero and Axl stood on the landing pad, watching the ship they had been waiting for start it's landing procedure. The engines whirred down and the wings folded back to their landing position. Zero's hair flailed wildly as the engine exhaust blew it around but both stayed motionless and serious as the door opened.

"Zero!" Ruby waved from the top of the steps.

The Reploid gave her a quick two finger salute and braced himself as she rushed down the steps, leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake as she hugged him.

"They finally finished repairs on you two!" Yang grinned.

"Took a little longer than expected. X really did a number on us and you can't just find 8000 year old Reploid parts lying around, y'know? Had to have them custom built here." Axl explained.

The mention of his name brought the uncomfortable truth back to them again, but it was also the main reason they were here.

"Speaking of which..." Weiss began, trying to remain composed. "How is he?"

Zero sighed. "Still the same. They already tried another reactivation and we're waiting for a response. I'm guessing that's why your all here."

The girls nodded solemnly.

"Come on, let's head inside. Team JNPR is here too." They all followed the red Maverick Hunter into the facility.

"You think it'll work this time?" Ruby wondered nervously.

"Hard to say." Zero admitted. "We don't exactly know what went wrong the last two times. Could have been a faulty part, an overloaded circuit, hell, it could have been as simple as the coding being wrong! Mix up a 1 with a 0 and the whole system can switch itself off as soon as you try to activate it."

The group went on in silence, contemplating the answer, realising that meant it could take days, weeks, months or years to fix X. Or maybe they wouldn't be able to fix him at all. Though that thought was scarcely worth thinking about.

"And what about Blake?" Yang asked.

"Same as ever." Axl answered. "Barely ever leaves his side. She hasn't even gone home since the main repairs were finished."

"You say repairs, more like a rebuild." Zero chimed in. "Wasn't much left of him when the recovery crew got there."

He shuddered slightly at the memory. Zero had been with the recovery crew since he knew what he was looking for and could spot any trace of his friend. They found what was left of X, which amounted to the top half of his body, minus the arms and severe damage to his chest and central control system.

Humans can withstand seeing robots in pieces, but to Zero, it was the equivalent of seeing a human dismembered and bleeding everywhere. He was a seasoned fighter so it didn't bother him as much as others, but the image still stuck with him. It would be all the worse if X didn't make it.

The group made their way into the secure area, a guard saluting them as he opened the locks and granted them access. Walking through, they found Team JNPR already sitting and waiting for news. To their surprise, they also found Bola, Klaymoor and Penny in the room too.

"Salutations, friends!" Penny cheered, sitting on top of Klaymoor's shoulders.

"Penny!" Ruby gasped. "You got fixed up!"

"Correct! The Schnee engineers did a wonderful job rebuilding my body. I am fully operational, combat and fun ready!" She saluted.

"Careful little one, your going to fall off." Klaymoor warned, though Penny just stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

"What are you guys doing here?" Yang asked.

"If offering our support to X is all we can do, then we shall do it as much as we can." Klaymoor answered simply.

"X is a great guy and a close friend. It wouldn't be right if we didn't at least try to help in some way." Bola followed up.

The usual greetings were exchanged but they were shorter, more muffled. Though they were happy to see their friends as usual, there was little joy to be had a the moment, only nerves until they heard news.

Feeling hungry, Ruby opened up her bag and took out the lunch she had with her, as well as a bag of cookies. She happily passed them around her friends, letting them share her delicious treats. She also took a spare lunch out. The others all a bit puzzled as to why.

"It's for Blake. Figured she would be hungry." Ruby explained.

The others all smiled at her kindness, but it also brought their thoughts back to Blake; the one who had been most affected by all this.

They had heard the story from her. They hadn't pushed her to tell them, it seemed that telling the story seemed to make Blake feel better and brought back happy memories, brief though they were. It crushed them to think that Blake and had found someone she was truly happy with, Oum knows she deserved it after her troublesome relationship with Adam, only to have it wrenched away from her almost straight away.

"Well, maybe she can have it later, I think she's asleep right now." Jaune said.

"They got her out of the room?" Yang asked with a mouthful of food.

Jaune shook his head. "Nope, she's asleep in there, she won't leave him."

It was simultaneously so beautiful and yet so sad. The teams sat in silence from that point, hoping and praying to themselves that this time it would work. X needed to come back, not just because it was right, but because he needed to.

 _ **?-?**_

 _ **(Insert music: I, 0 Your Fellow – Remastered Version)**_

X opened his eyes and found himself in a white void, completely silent, yet filled with a warm light that made him feel completely comfortable. His armour was fully repaired and as he walked, his footsteps echoed across the vast nothingness.

"Where... where am I?" He wondered.

"Ah! Your awake! Sort of!" A familiar voice said.

X's eyes widened as he heard the voice behind him. A goofy sounding, yet happy go lucky voice that always seemed to help brighten up his day. He remembered it well from so very long ago.

Turning around, he saw a small, green Reploid with a large pack on his back, and a pair of goggles with red lenses. Beside him stood a female Reploid with a pink and white colour scheme and long blonde hair, she had a small comm device on her ear with the mic going over her mouth. There was also a male commander Reploid who wore a blue general's outfit, complete with robotic pauldrons and hat with a red crystal inside.

"Alia? Douglas? Commander Signas? What's going on? I mean, you... you should all be..."

"Yeah." Douglas laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "See, the thing about that is... we kind of are."

"You are? Wait, does that mean that I'm dead!?" X realised.

"Not at all." Alia smiled warmly. "You came close to it, but the human scientists were able to save you. It's just taking a little longer than anticipated to reactivate your systems."

X half nodded as he tried to understand.

"So, where exactly are we?"

"Your in cyberspace." Signas explained. "This is where all Reploids go when they pass on from the world. Think of it like an afterlife for Reploids. No pain, no suffering and the ability to create anything you desire. Heaven for Reploids, in a sense."

"So that means, everyone's here?" X asked hopefully.

"That's right. Colonel, General, Red, even Iris is here somewhere. I'd let you see them but we're already using up too much power as it is. The link between your world and cyberspace is fading quickly, pretty soon you'll be waking up in your body again."

"Figured it would be nice to say hi before you left." Douglas grinned. "That and the commander has something to say to you."

Signas stood in front of X to address him properly.

"X, your actions have not gone unnoticed in the cyber world. We've seen your heroic deeds, as well as the new friends you have made. Your goal was always to achieve peace, and with your new friends, you may well have done that."

"Really?" X asked, scarcely able to believe it.

Alia continued. "With Xandria gone, there's no more reason to fight. Humans and Faunus both worked together to save themselves from extinction. Aside from a few extremists, the world has seen the benefits of working together, people are saying this is the start of a new golden age! And you've helped bring it about, X!"

"That is why I have one final mission for you, my old friend." Signas said, placing a hand on X's shoulder proudly.

"I want you, Zero, Axl and your friends to make sure this peace lasts. It's the greatest chance humanity has had since Neo Arcadia was built, we don't want to see it lost."

X looked up as a series of projections appeared all around them. They were showing images of what was happening across the world. X saw people having celebrations long into the night, with fireworks, dancing and laughter. Another had a street party during the day, showing some people holding a large banner. It had doodles of X, his friends, RWBY and JNPR with the message: 'Thank you heroes!' written on it. One screen showed a news report, with the leaders of both Faunus and Human organisations meeting, shaking hands as though they were brothers and pledging to collaborate for a better world.

There were also memories being shown too. Any time X had been with his friends, it was shown somewhere above him. It showed them smiling, laughing, having fun together. It showed the joy he was helping to bring them.

But the final, and perhaps most moving one that showed, was the moment before he had sent Blake away. Just after he had kissed her, the sheer happiness that was on her face made X's heart melt.

"The world isn't ready to get by without you three yet, X and I don't blame it one little bit. So, you think you can handle this mission?"

"Consider it done." X laughed.

The screens faded away, as Signas, Alia and Douglas also began to do so too. There time was nearly up and though X was sad to see them go, he knew he would see them all again, one day. He closed his eyes, and waited to wake up.

 _ **Main Repair Bay**_

X opened his eyes slowly, dismissing the technical jargon that appeared in his vision as his systems came back online. He was staring up at the ceiling from his resting place. He looked left and saw a large number of tools and parts on a nearby table, obviously used for work on him.

Then his audio sensors picked up breathing to his right. Turning in the right direction, he saw a welcoming sight.

There was Blake. She was sleeping softly, her head resting against X's arm and breathing lightly. Her ears twitched occasionally, making her bow mimic the action as she lay there resting and dreaming.

Gently, X moved his arm and shook her shoulder.

"Blake...Blake!" He said in a loud whisper.

Wearily, she began to open her eyes, their yellow shine filling X's vision and sparking all the memories back to life. She moved up slightly, allowing X to get his arm free so he could pull himself upright. It took a few moments but when she had woken up enough, Blake's eyes shot open and her mouth hung loose. She shook slightly and her breathing became faster.

"Hi!" X simply said.

Without warning, Blake moved forward and placed her hands on X's cheeks, holding him in place as she kissed him fully on the lips. He was so surprised he nearly fell backwards, his arms waving crazily to try and keep balance. When Blake finally pulled away, X took a deep breath and clasped both hands together.

"Right. Someone activate me again please, I'm pretty sure I'm still dreaming!" He joked.

With tears of joy in her eyes, Blake burst into laughter along with X as the two embraced each other once again.

"I thought I'd lost you." Blake admitted. "I saw the fireball and thought that was it, you were gone."

"Well, I had to come back. I was fighting to get back the whole time. I was fighting for you." X said, pulling her in closer.

Behind them, they heard a door sliding open, followed by an almighty shout.

"HE'S AWAKE!"

As soon as they heard that, both X and Blake were floored by a wildly happy Ruby and Penny smashing into them for a Mach speed hug. The clatter of metal and tools, followed by a few 'oofs' were heard as Penny and Ruby hugged their friends tight, while the others just laughed at what they saw.

The friends were finally reunited.

 _ **A few days after that – Schnee Robotics – Rooftop**_

The sun was setting on the horizon, soon to give way to the cool of night. Watching the sun set, Blake sat with her head rested against X's shoulder. He had his arm around her and was holding her close, while Zero was standing nearby, resting against a wall along with Axl. In behind them were two other familiar faces in the form of Vile and Neo. They all stared off into the distance as several large ships flew towards the ruins of Neo Arcadia.

"So they're really going to rebuild Beacon there?" Blake asked.

"That's what we heard." Vile answered. "Neo Arcadia was meant to be place of peacekeepers and justice. Maybe with the new Beacon there, it can stay that way this time. Besides, it's kinda poetic to have your new base built over the top of your enemies'."

"What about you two then? There's plenty of room for you in there, and we could use all the Hunters we can get. It may just be clean up duty for Xandria's minions and the Grimm but many hands make light work and all that." Axl offered.

Vile chuckled to himself but shook his head.

"We appreciate the offer but Neo and I have other plans. Someone's gotta keep Remnant's criminal underworld in check. Who better to do it than two former scoundrels who know the system inside out?"

The heroes couldn't argue the sense in that, though it wasn't the only reason as Vile went on.

"Besides, we still have answers to find. Neo here wants to know more about her family."

"No easy way to put this but, I thought they abandoned her?" Zero asked bluntly, unsure of how else to ask the question.

"They did, but things are never that simple. Maybe they were just cruel, abusive people who left her for no good reason. Maybe they were backed into a corner, sent her away for safe keeping. You have to remember the White Fang was stirring up trouble back then. We're gonna find out what happened to them, and make sure they get what they deserve, whatever that may be."

"I see." X said understandingly before he stood up and held out a hand for Vile to shake. "We'll see you around then, Vile. Good luck, both of you."

Vile took his hand and firmly shook it.

"You know, I never thought there'd be a day when I was shaking your hand as a friend. I always figured I'd be tearing it out of your arm socket!"

"Um... let's try and keep the former going, OK?" X laughed nervously.

"Heh heh! Fair enough. Come on, Neo! See you around, X!"

With those words, Vile leapt off the roof top and landed in the street below, running off to whatever fate had in store for him. Neo stood on the roof edge and gave a wave to the heroes. She then leapt backwards into the air before vanishing as she teleported away.

"You think they'll be alright?" Axl wondered.

"I'm sure they can handle themselves." Blake assured him, standing up as well. "Besides, we have our own stuff to take care of."

"She's right." X agreed. "This world isn't gonna stay peaceful by itself, much as we want it to. Not to mention the Grimm are still running around, so we have our work cut out for us!"

Zero threw up his hands sarcastically. "And here I was hoping I could put this dusty old thing away for good." He said, taking out his sabre.

Then X felt his scroll buzzing with a call. Holding his wrist up, all of them heard a message coming from the Hunter HQ.

"This is X."

" _Come in X, this is hunter HQ. We have a report of a large scale Grimm horde heading towards a settlement five miles North of your position, requesting you head over there with your team and check it out."_

"Yeah, we'll handle it!" X said confidently.

" _Roger that. Grimm threat is Level 7, suggest you take additional teams with you as back up."_

"This is Team RWBY, we'll go with them!"

The group all turned to see the rest of team RWBY waiting there for them, weapons at the ready.

"Team JNPR, we'll go too!" Jaune told the HQ as his team loaded up their weaponry.

" _Team assignments confirmed, you are clear to engage. Drop in fast and hit 'em hard. Good Luck! HQ out."_

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman X – Title Theme Remix by Captain Nurbles)**_

"Here we go Hunters!" X rallied his friends around him, pointing to their objective in the distance.

"Let's move!"

The friends all leapt off the roof, heading to their next objective. They knew it wouldn't be easy, but they would be ready to face the future together!

 _ **(Credits music: Another Sun – Tomori Ayumi)**_

 _ **Wow.**_

 _ **I can't honestly say I was ready for this. We have reached the end of our story! Oh sure, there's still the extras to come, and feel free to suggest any others you want to see in there (Battle ideas, funny moments etc.)**_

 _ **Still, I didn't think a chapter I wrote while I was bored would one day spiral into this tale that so many of you have enjoyed. I can honestly say that it has been a pleasure to write this for you all, and that it wouldn't have made it anywhere close to this point without your support.**_

 _ **In particular, thanks go out to:**_

 _ **Locke Lynx**_

 _ **R98**_

 _ **Gravenimage**_

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga**_

 _ **SmashHero75**_

 _ **Yaboioverthar**_

 _ **Any other regulars I missed**_

 _ **and...**_

 _ **All of the followers and favourites! You're all S Class Hunters in my book!**_

 _ **Extra special thanks to CasualFictionWriter23 for the front cover!**_

 _ **Upcoming extras include a few extra fights, plus some context if you want some random ones in there too! I also hope to do some extra stories (kinda like RWBY chibi) and am also open to any other suggestions.**_

 _ **For now though, the main story is completed! I am still planning the sequel and there are other stories to write so I shall leave this authors note here, and sign off as I normally do.**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_

…

 _ **But only after I leave you with a little teaser for the sequel! Enjoy!**_

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman ZX Tunes – Fate – Deep Seated Grudge)**_

A dark room. Nothing is visible in the area, save for the image shown on a large monitor and the silhouette of someone watching it. Their features are indistinguishable from this perspective, but we can hear their voice. An elderly sounding, harsh voice, a voice filled with underlying anger and hatred for what he is seeing.

What he is viewing are the various news reports of X and his friends victory over Xandria. The images of their smiling faces show on all channels, causing the man an immeasurable amount of fury. He freezes on a full shot that shows all of the heroes together.

"The enemy is vanquished, and the heroes are victorious. So the old tales go, so this one follows... BAH!"

The man throws his arms up in frustration.

"If only they knew the truth. If only that ancient pile of scrap knew what his 'brilliant legacy' did to me so long ago! If only those children could see past their delusions of heroes and villains and understand what the Hunters allowed to happen to me! ME! One of the greatest minds they had in the Academy!"

The figure watches the screen for a while longer, studying the faces of each hero present, deep in thought. His eyes scan across them all, until he locks onto the face of one hero in particular. Taking note of a rather strange observation, and a familiar looking face.

Ruby Rose.

"Hmmmm..." The man thinks, enhancing the image to zoom in on Ruby's face.

"You look awfully familiar my dear. That outfit design, the face shape and features, those silver ey- Oh! OHOHOHOHO! That is interesting!"

The monitor is switched off, leaving the room in complete darkness as the man leaves the room and exits to another. We do not follow him, but hear the mechanical door slide open and shut as he leaves. We also hear him speak on the other side.

"Come along my faithful servant, we have much to do. The time has come for us to act, and I know just what needs to be done. Follow me!"

A loud rumbling is heard as something out of our vision begins to move. Something large and heavy. We hear the sound of deep breathing, followed by a deep voice speaking.

"GRRRRRR...YES...MY...LORD..."


	63. Extra: MMXRWBY Chibi Episode 1

_**So here's the first extra everyone: MMXRWBY CHIBI! These will obviously be shorter than the full chapters, but should still be enjoyable and should come out quicker as a result!**_

 _ **Episode 1, Part 1 - Welcome to the World of Chibi!**_

 _The title card falls into place as it normally does with RWBY Chibi, this time saying MMXRWBY Chibi, with the RWBY rose on one side and a giant X's helmet on the other. The four Team RWBY members appear in their normal places on the logo, with Ruby still waving happily at the camera. The music fades as the episode is about to begin when..._

"WAIT!" A voice called from off screen.

Ruby jumped high in the air in fright, landing in Weiss' arms as she stood on top of the logo. The heiress caught her friend with ease, while Yang sees who is coming from off screen and hides behind the last 'I' in 'chibi'. Blake simply watched on, seemingly the only one who knew this was coming.

"What the hell is this?" Zero demanded, pointing to his oversized chibi head, complete with oversized ponytail.

X and Axl looked much the same in design with giant heads also atop their bodies. X activated his buster and found it to be surprisingly tiny. Looking at it in confusion, he fired a test shot and found the gun only made small shots with adorable 'pew pew' sounds each time he shot.

"Yeah! Why can I only shoot lemons?" X asked, far more calmly than Zero.

Weiss dropped Ruby to the floor, the flower themed chibi huntress making a small squeak as she fell, followed by a cartoon style crashing noise.

"What are you babbling about? You look just like you always do!" Weiss answered.

"Since when was my head twice the size of my body?" Zero asked rhetorically.

He pointed to his oversized cranium to justify his point when Axl moved an extendable measuring tape across his head. Zero's eyes followed it as the device was stretched across his head span.

"Actually it's 3 times the size of your body." Axl stated, taking careful note of the measurements.

"Look, whatever!" Zero waved the tape away. "My point is, this ain't normal!"

The girls of Team RWBY all looked at each other and shrugged in unison.

"I don't know what's wrong with him girls." Yang said to them.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME? ME?!" Zero shouted, his eye twitching.

Then the whole scene turned to greyscale and all characters except for X, Zero and Axl were paused. The three looked around in confusion until a voice spoke from above.

" _ **Guess you didn't get the memo, huh lads?"**_

"Great! Talking sky people! This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder!" Zero threw his arms up in frustration.

" _ **Cool your dash boots, will ya? Let me introduce myself. I'm Codename Siarnaq, and I made you."**_

Silence filled the room as the three Reploids looked up in confusion, their giant eyes blinking a few times in unison with accompanying squeaks.

"Say what now?" Axl asked, doing a double take.

" _ **Well... in a way I guess. It's kind of hard to explain. Technically speaking, you have many creators! I'm just the one who made this scenario, and the whole story you guys have been in up until this point."**_

"So... your like a... God or something?" X wondered, extremely curious.

" _ **Meh... More like an ascended, all knowing being with non-interference rules unless a specific situation arises."**_

"In English please?" Axl scratched his head.

" _ **Have you ever seen Stargate? It's pretty much like that."**_

"Right. Got it." Axl smiled.

"Glad someone did." Zero rolled his eyes. "But if you have non-interference rules, then why are you talking to us?"

" _ **Because you guys need an explanation! I guess my subconscious instructions to you got lost in the vast internet somewhere. Anyway, you guys are in what I like to call: Chibi World!"**_

"What's a chibi?" X whispered to the Axl. "It's not a religious thing is it?"

" _ **No, no, no! Let me explain. You guys have already done all the events with Xandria and Xevach. As far as actual plot goes, the world is saved and you guys won! Congrats by the way!"**_

"Thanks!" Axl grinned, wielding a giant foam finger with #1 on it.

" _ **That whole scenario, was created by me! Before you ask why:**_

 _ **I was bored**_

 _ **I started writing it after RWBY Volume 3 because I was pissed off that Pyrrha died!**_

"Wait! What was that last pa-" Zero tried to interrupt.

 _ **3\. People actually enjoyed it so I decided to keep going and now we are probably going to have a sequel."**_

" _ **Anyway, now that the main story is done, I promised I would do some extra stuff! Kinda like the special features on a DVD/Blu-ray. One of those extras was some light hearted adventures and comedy in a chibi style. i.e. MMXRWBY Chibi! Your all still you, just a little more... adorable for these episodes."**_

"Huh. I guess that makes sense. So we go back to normal after these episodes, right?" Zero asked, calmed down now.

" _ **That's right!"**_

"What about you though? You said you couldn't interfere and you kinda...well... have."

" _ **Ah it's just a small thing. The high council of writers won't mind, even if they do, it'll just be a slap on the wrist for me. If anything they'll approve of it since you guys fighting with each other would be real bad for everyone involved!"**_

"Well. I guess that explains everything. I just have one question though. Can you get rid of the big heads please? Seriously, this thing is a pain in the backside to balance. I know you won't mind, since you like us so much and all."

" _ **Sorry, I can't risk making physical changes to this world unless your lives are in danger. Besides, I think they suit you all, especially you Axl!"**_

Axl gave a small hand flick as if to show embarrassment, while Zero tapped his foot and rubbed a finger against his chin in thought.

"Hmmm... Hey! What if someone was trying to stab X with a sabre? Then a life would be in danger!"

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman Legends OST – Reflection Room)**_

Zero drew his sabre, though given it was chibi form, it looked more like a small butter knife. The blade ignited, complete with a higher pitch of the standard activation sound. X's eyes went wide at the sight.

"Come here, X! Do your best friend a favour!"

X promptly leapt up and ran on the spot, his legs doing the Looney Tunes style cartoon blur before zooming off to the side. Zero ran after him while Axl reached off screen and pulled in a tub of popcorn. Sitting down cross legged, he shovelled the treats in while X ran screaming away.

" _ **Wait, Zero! It doesn't work like that!"**_

"Get away from me!"

"Axl, grab his legs and help me pin him down!"

"WAH!"

"I'm neutral...*munch*... in all of this."

" _ **Seriously, I'd be in a lot of trouble if X died when he wasn't meant to!"**_

"Exactly!" Zero laughed.

" _ **This is exploitation of your popularity! If your not careful the Council could make me write embarrassing episodes about you!"**_

"Stop squirming, X!"

"AXL! DO SOMETHING!" X begged.

The author sighed and placed an elbow on his desk, resting his head on one hand.

" _ **Maybe this was a bad idea."**_

 _Transition – Ruby leaps at the screen and slashes it in half with Crescent Rose_

 _ **Episode 1, Part 2 – Ol' Fashioned Duel**_

The friends looked nervously at the Resistance Base clock tower. The hands upon it's face did not lie, currently reading 11:57 AM. They all gave a collective gulp, for something big was about to go down. The sound of a spur rattling as a foot hit the ground was heard, and all turned to see it's owner.

"Howdy, howdy. Let's get rowdy." Yang Xiao Long said, wearing a beige Stetson and spurs on her boots.

The friends looked at her opponent. There, under the shade of one of the trees in the courtyard, leaning back in a chair with a black Stetson over his eyes and a toothpick in his mouth, was Axl. He pulled the Stetson up just enough to see her before rising out of his chair and moving to his place.

"I figured you would have backed out by now, tin grin." Yang taunted.

"Not a chance, little lady. Now all we need is our last- ah, there he is."

Ren stood where he was meant to be, arms folded and awaiting the call to begin. He did not wear a Stetson, instead he had a white headband with the Ying Yang symbol and Chinese writing on it.

"Shall we begin?" He asked simply.

The three moved to separate points of the centre of the courtyard and waited with their hands by their sides. Their other friends watched nervously, as the clock drew closer to midday.

"1 minute!" Jaune warned.

Yang quickly got out some speakers for her music player and searched for an appropriate track.

 _ **(Insert music: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – The Trio (from 3:54))**_

Axl waved his fingers gently over the top of his guns in their holsters, hoping to goad one of his opponents into drawing early. They were all tense.

A bead of sweat appeared on Yang's forehead and slowly dripped down her face but she did not flinch.

Ren's eyes shot back and forth between the two as they all waited for the bell to toll.

Their friends were just as bad. Ruby was biting her nails nervously, as was Nora. Jaune and Pyrrha stayed very close to each other, holding one another tightly. Weiss was taking measurements, no one was entirely sure what for but given the fact they saw coffins earlier, it didn't bode well!

And Blake was... sitting by a tree, reading her novels. Never get between a girl and her reading. Especially if it's smut!

Yang's breathing became a little faster, as that bead of sweat now had several others to accompany it. Ren's eyes were darting back and forth like ping pong balls, and Axl's fingers were now moving so fast he looked like a pro Starcraft player!

The moment had come. Eyes moved back and forth between the duellists and the clock tower, which inched agonisingly slowly towards 12 noon.

 _TICK_

 _TOCK_

 _TICK_

 _TOCK_

 _TICK_

 _TOCK_

 _ **BONG!**_

Time slowed down as all three drew and aimed their weapons.

POP!

A small cork fired out of Axl's gun and whizzed across the courtyard towards Ren. His eyes widened in realisation as the cork hit him smack bang in the forehead.

"OOF!" He groaned as he back flipped several times cartoonishly and fell down with his eyes like whirlpools.

Yang tried to fire hers and aimed for Axl, who wasn't even aiming at her! She grinned at her luck, except...

CLICK

She tried to fire again.

CLICK CLICK

Her Ember Celica wouldn't fire! In a panic, she checked the chambers, only to to find they were empty! Looking up, she saw Axl walking over to her, she flinched as he held his pistol up, expecting him to shot her too.

Instead, he spun on his finger and holstered it. He spat out the toothpick and paced over to Yang.

"There are two types of people in this world, Yang." He said in a mock western voice. "Those with loaded guns, and those who pay up."

He held out his hand, gesturing for the money.

"You pay up."

Grumbling, Yang placed a wad of Lien in Axl's hand. He flicked though it with a laugh, counting his gains happily.

"My turn! Draw!" Nora cackled.

She quickly fired a grenade which hit Axl in his gut and sent the Reploid boy flying back against the tree, his hard gotten Lien floating down through the air. Stars went up around Axl's head as X just face palmed.

"Remind me never to let them watch a Western again." He asked Zero.

"Got it." He acknowledged, just as Axl was being carried in on a stretcher.

 _Transition – X dashes in and charges up his buster, firing it at the screen_

 _ **Episode 1, Part 3 – Zero's Secret**_

 _ **(Insert music: Pink Panther Theme)**_

The door to Zero's room slowly creaked open, as the familiar red helmet of the Maverick Hunter popped out from behind it. He looked left and right, making sure his coast was clear. Satisfied, Zero began tip toeing his way through the halls, keeping his head on a swivel to make sure no one was watching him.

Making it out to the courtyard, he made his way through a car park. Yang's motorcycle was there, along with a limo for Weiss and a little wagon that had Ruby's name on it with Zwei harnessed onto the front of it. The dog gave a happy bark as Zero passed.

Finally, Zero reached his ride chaser. Taking another quick look around to make sure no one was following, he hopped aboard and rode of towards the city, letting out a sigh of relief as he got away from the base.

He rode on into the city, finally pulling over outside the mall. He got off his bike and stood in front of the main doors, looking at the impressive building. But he did not go in that way, instead he made his way through the side alley towards the back entrances.

Going along the alley was exactly as you would expect; filled with the echoes of the main city streets, passing by dumpsters and a few shady places. A cat meowed loudly at Zero as he approached, before the feline leapt atop on of the bins and over a nearby fence.

Zero kept going, until he reached the door he was looking for. There was someone guarding it, but upon seeing the Hunter approach, the man moved aside and opened the door for him. Zero took a deep breath before stepping in through the door.

"Ah, there he is!" A female voice said. "We're all set for you, Zero!"

The shot panned back to reveal...

A salon.

Yup, your typical, average salon. Filled with the same type of customers you'd expect; girly girls who were getting their hair styled, nails done and gossiping between each other.

"Hi, Zero!"

"How's it going?"

"Did you tell Axl about me?"

The girls were all asking him a variety of questions and chatting to him, even if he wasn't listening. With a relaxed sigh, he lay back on one of the chairs and one of the staff attended to him.

"You're a braver one than I am Zero." She said. "I don't know how you put up with this lot when you come in here."

"Well I haven't got much choice. You know how hard it is to keep my hair looking this good?"

"True." The staff member admitted as she prepared everything she needed. "The usual then?"

"The usual." Zero answered.

A few hours later, he was back at Beacon, with his hair shiny and soft. Making his way to the rest of his friends in the courtyard, they all couldn't help but notice how silky smooth his hair was... again! There was also a fragrant aroma that followed him, as shown by the large amount of students following the sweet smell.

Yang shook her head.

"Ok, real talk, how do you keep your hair so nice?"

"Um... guess it's just natural." He laughed.

His friends went back to what they were doing, as Zero looked at the audience and gave a wink.

 _ **So that was the first MMXRWBY Chibi! Letm e know what you guys thought and feel free to PM me any ideas for more Chibi episodes!**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **TOODLE PIP!**_


	64. Extra: X's Weapons

_**Just a small extra this time to get me back into the writing mood after my holidays. This is a more detailed look at X's weapons and abilities, including those he received from Ruby and friends.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 **Weapons**

 _ **X Buster (Mega Buster MK17) – Default Weapon**_

The X Buster is a compact arm cannon created by Dr. Thomas Light. The weapon is integrated onto X's body and can remain hidden inside his right arm. While in this state, it is replaced with a hand at the barrel section.

The weapon is solar powered and uses the suns energy to create projectiles. The weapon absorbs solar energy and compresses it into a more focused format, allowing for the energy to become volatile enough to deal damage. A single uncharged shot is the equivalent of an armour piercing round from conventional weapons, able to puncture basic steel constructions, though it will struggle against reinforced materials.

The weapon is also capable of charging up to two different levels. A level 1 charge shot slightly amplifies damage and creates a shot that is roughly double the size of an uncharged shot. A level 2 shot will be roughly five times the size of a standard buster shot, as well as dealing double the damage. The penalty for this is, of course, a longer charge time, taking roughly two seconds. In pinch situations, this time frame can become a hindrance, so charging the weapon is recommended in cover or safety.

A variable weapons system integrated this cannon allows X to copy abilities from others he defeats, by utilising their robotic coding. Since his interactions with Aura powered humans and Faunus, X has developed the ability to copy their abilities too, due to the fact they come from bio-chip DNA passed down through the bloodline.

 _ **Z-Sabre – Default Weapon**_

A retractable blade of burning plasma energy, this weapon was originally acquired from X by Zero after the Eurasia incident. Since Zero's return, X held onto the original while Zero constructed a new one, allowing both hunters to make use of the weapon.

Given that the sword is made from plasma energy, the blade is very light and manoeuvrable, the only real source of weight being the hilt. The sword also does not require sharpening due to it's nature, and can be used to cut through most materials with ease.

This blade can also be modified to give it elemental attributes. Items such as Dust Crystals provide excellent modifiers for the weapon, but require skill to use. Though X is proficient in using the blade for basic attack and defence, he is a rank novice compared to Zero, who makes use of his own techniques to utilise the weapon to it's fullest.

 **Abilities**

 _ **Metallic Rose – Acquired from Ruby Rose**_

One of X's most powerful new abilities, it has multiple effects due to Ruby's own increased power from her Silver Eyes trait.

X buster now fires more powerful default shots, equivalent to a 50. Cal sniper round. The shots are able to pierce much tougher materials and have a near perfect degree of accuracy. The fire rate is somewhat slower but the power more than makes up for it.

The Z-Sabre is transformed into a scythe with a plasma edge. This increases it's effective range and also allows it to fire out waves of energy from the blade.

 _ **Ember Ballistic – Acquired from Yang Xiao Long**_

Changes X's buster shots into powerful, incendiary missiles. The missiles explode upon contact with a surface and have a fairly large blast radius. After the initial explosion, the area around the blast will be ignited in fire, dealing additional damage over time if a unit is susceptible to it.

The weapon can be charged to increase the blast radius size, at the cost of increased charge time.

Although powerful, the projectiles are missiles and, as such, can be destroyed in mid flight, resulting in possible harm to the wielder and others nearby if used carelessly.

 _ **Symbolic Cannon – Acquired from Weiss Schnee**_

Simple in concept, difficult in action. This ability allows X to make use of Weiss' glyph production semblance. This includes push and pull glyphs, speed increase glyphs and propulsion glyphs, among others.

Charging the weapon allows X to summon units to his side. These units are based on memory and will follow X's commands without question.

 _ **Soul Body – Acquired from Blake Belladonna**_

One of X's older abilities that seems to have been perfectly developed by Blake. A standard shot will produce a clone silhouette of X that mimics his actions to a fault. It can absorb damage and deal damage by contact, but will dissipate if too much damage is sustained.

A charged attack will send out a wave of clones, dashing towards the target to deal increased damage.

Unlike Blake, X cannot let the clones move with their own free will, his are either used as a projectile, or as a mimic.

 _ **Divine Shield – Acquired from Jaune Arc**_

Not so much a weapon as a utility. This ability allows X to encompass himself in a near impenetrable barrier of energy, protecting him from damage so long as it remains active.

In addition, he can also summon smaller barriers directly in front of himself. This method uses less energy but leaves X vulnerable on the flanks and rear.

 _ **Polarity Storm – Acquired from Pyrrha Nikos**_

A powerful warrior gives a powerful weapon. Polarity Storm allows X to change the polarity around the barrel of his Buster. When set positively, X gathers all nearby metallic objects to his cannon, from there, he can do two things.

Either send the polarity orb firing off in a specific direction, effectively throwing whatever he has gathered at the enemy. Or he can reverse the polarity and send the objects he has gathered away from himself in random directions. This second method is great for crowd control measures.

 _ **Thunder Grenade – Acquired from Nora Valkyrie**_

This weapon fires out a small grenade projectile that explodes on impact with an enemy, or after 3 seconds if no enemy is hit.

Upon detonation, the grenade releases a volatile cloud, filled with lightning. If fired into the air, the cloud will spread over an area and fire lightning down at random intervals. If fired close to the ground, the cloud will stay in a localised area and damage any enemies caught inside it.

Charging the weapon will increase the detonation timer up to 10 seconds.

 _ **(Authors note: When I made this story, Ren's Semblance had not been revealed yet, as such, this one is based on his Canon Semblance, but altered to be more fitting to the enemies he faces. It should see more use in the sequel.)**_

 _ **Shadow Round – Acquired from Lie Ren**_

In it's uncharged state, this weapon changes X's regular and loud Buster shots into silent, three directional shots. The projectiles have no firing noise and little travel noise. One is fired in line with X, while the other two go 45 degrees up and down respectively.

The charged form of this ability is most useful. A full charge will render X invisible for a short period of time, allowing him to avoid unwanted eyes seeing him. Note though, that although X is invisible in this state, he still has a physical form which can be detected by motion sensors, or making physical contact with X.


	65. Extra: Vision of Destiny

_**Hi everyone, been a while hasn't it?**_

 _ ***Looks at calendar***_

 _ **Ahem... a VERY long while since I updated this. Not to mention that the sequel has been going slow as well! Simply put, I have been working my backside off this past while. With Christmas and essay deadlines, I haven't had the time I had before and I can only apologise for that.**_

 _ **On the bright side though, I have just finished my exams and that means my next essay isn't due for about another half a year! So this should allow me more time to write my stories!**_

 _ **As a way of warming this old tale up again, I wanted to do something a little different. This little extra is kind of a random idea that popped into my head and has nothing major to add to the story. It's just a nice little link between two time lines. I will get to the battles and more RWBY chibi soon.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 **Hunter Base – 20XX**

"Really appreciate ya helping me with this, X."

"It's no problem."

Douglas' legs wriggled underneath the large power supply, which was currently a mess of tangled wires and misplaced panels.

It had only been a few days since the Eurasia incident. Sigma's corruption of the space colony had been one of the greatest threats humanity had ever faced. The Sigma virus, though mostly destroyed, was still rampant across the globe, causing more Maverick outbreaks than ever before. It was no surprise therefore, that the Hunters had little to no rest before getting back to work. Even if it was without their comrades.

X gave a small sigh as he looked over at the team. They were all there; Alia typing away furiously at the computers, Signas giving instructions to other Hunters, lifesavers tending to the wounded and those infected with the virus, and of course Douglas, still working away. The only one missing...

...was Zero.

He had given his life to stop Sigma by crashing into the space colony. It had corrupted him in the process and X had been forced to face him. The two had beaten each other to a standstill when Sigma arrived. It was only by chance that Zero had awoken from the virus state. He was able to stop Sigma briefly, and it cost him his life.

After that, X faced Sigma himself, and repaid the Maverick in kind for what he had done. Not that it would bring Zero back, but at least he could rest easy knowing that Sigma was gone now.

"Hey X!"

X shook himself out of the thoughts when he heard Douglas' voice.

"Do me a favour will ya? I need to give this generator a kick start, mind using your weapons on it?"

Shrugging and not seeing what harm it could do, X switched to tri-thunder, the weapon he had obtained recently from Squid Adler and aimed it at the generator.

"You sure this is safe?" He asked, concerned.

"Well, electricity is never safe." Douglas admitted. "But it's only a small generator, I don't see what harm it could possibly cau-"

 ***CHOOM!***

A bolt of blue electricity shot back out of the generator as soon as X fired, it arced slightly over the generator casing, but the majority of it hit X directly on his head! He was catapulted backwards, skidding across the floor as small buzzes of energy passed over his helmet. His eyes were dull instead of their normal shining green and he lay still on the floor as the others ran over to him.

"X!"

He heard many people calling his name, but they sounded so far away, so faint. And his vision, it wasn't filled with the owners of the concerned voices that were growing so quiet now, but a desolate waste land, filled with torn structures and lying in an impact crater.

"What... what is this place? What am I seeing? _"_ X thought to himself.

 _ **(Insert music: Megaman Zero 1 Remastered OST – For Endless Fight)**_

A bulky black Reploid appeared before him, with large protrusions from it's head and floating with its arms by its side.

" _Maverick Hunter, not amazing. We will destroy the Zero Nightmare. You are not wanted here, keep out!"_

"Who is that?" X thought.

Then came another Reploid, this one with a purple headpiece and a white lab coat draped over himself.

" _I am Gate. The new leader of Reploids!"_ He proclaimed.

"Gate? I... I don't even know this guy."

The vision soon changed to the Hunter Base again, but this time, it was different. It seemed more modern. X could see someone he never expected to see again. The long blonde ponytail extending downwards and that red and white armour that was oh so familiar.

"Zero? You're alive! How?" X gasped.

There was also a new Reploid there, one with black and red armour, ginger hair poking out of the back of his helmet and two handguns in his holsters. On the screen before them, a red armoured Reploid with large shoulder pads and a missing eye was addressing them.

" _I never imagined our little friend would end up in your hands, but in any case, I want Axl back!"_

"Axl, that's your name, huh?"

The Reploid didn't respond as the scene changed again.

X now found himself in a palace of some kind, the sky's above filled with shining stars, and in the distance, Earth. It was then X realised he was looking at the planet from the moon. He turned and saw a white Reploid with purple hair standing over a pile of scrap metal.

" _Now that you've defeated Sigma, I suppose you're satisfied. Thanks to you, the plan has gone smoothly. The new generation Reploids have been awakened and the new world is at hand!"_

Now the scene flashed back to Earth, a burning battlefield Earth. Cities were destroyed, people ran screaming for their lives as Reploids of all kinds marched onwards, relentlessly. X saw Zero and Axl fighting as many as they could but the numbers were overwhelming. In the sky above, he saw two Reploids staring down at him, one with long brown hair blustering in the wind, another in knight like armour with a gigantic blade.

" _What is all this? What happened? Was this my fault? Did... did I fail?"_

Another flash of light showed the Earth again, seemingly at peace. But then, X noticed something was different.

" _This... this is Earth but... there are cities where there should be none, oceans flooding what was once land. This is Earth, but it's completely different now. Is.. is this the future? How far ahead am I seeing? Where are the Reploids, where are the Hunters?"_

Then, into X's view, a blur of red flew past, along with... rose petals. A young girl wielding a giant red scythe was fighting against a woman in some kind of dropship. She wore a red dress with yellow highlights and she could throw fire from her hands! X had never seen humans that were able to do this before!

He saw four strange buildings, along with symbols and names he did not recognise. Vale, Mistral, Vacuo, Beacon, Atlas. None of this made any sense! He could see other young humans, each wielding weird and wonderful weapons, each with powers the likes of which only he and Zero had used before. He saw humans with animal like features, living together with regular humans. Were these aliens? Was this so far into the future that he was seeing evolution at work?

One last time the visions changed. He was standing in front of one of the building he had seen before, and there were several humans standing before him. He recognised the scythe wielding girl from his earlier vision. There were others there too.

A blonde girl with two yellow gauntlets. She looked very proud and stood protectively beside the scythe wielder. A smartly dressed young girl with a white ponytail, holding a rapier and carrying an impressive scar over her eye. She seemed less than happy to see X. Then there was a girl in black with a bow on her head. She had two pistols in her hands and was watching cautiously.

Others were there too. A boy who looked something like a knight. Another dressed in Chinese garb with machine pistols as weapons. Beside him was ginger haired girl with a gigantic hammer, she seemed overexcited and was near bouncing with joy, and a girl in bronze armour with a shield and spear, she looked like one of the ancient Greek heroes.

"Who... are... you?" X wondered as his vision went to white again.

 _ **(Music stop)**_

"Don't worry, the lifesaver's are here!"

"He's waking up, give him some room!"

X came to back in the Hunter Base, exactly where he had been working with Douglas earlier. Alia gently helped him sit up.

"How do you feel?" She asked.

"I...I feel strange. I saw things... visions. But... they're fading as quickly as they came. I'm struggling to remember them." X explained.

" _I can remember the suffering though."_ X thought to himself. _"So much pain, so much destruction. What happens in the future? Do I fail? Does humanity fall? Is this whole fight just a pointless delaying of the inevitable?"_

He sighed to himself, staring at the ground in thought. When he looked back up though, his breath left him.

The visions were still whirling in his head, he saw quick glimpses of them as he looked around. This one though, it was a new one. X saw the people he had seen before. They were laughing and happy. And in the middle of it all, he saw... himself!

"He seems to be alright." The lifesaver said. "The shock just forced his system to restart, nothing major."

The visions soon faded, but X was left with a smile on his face. Letting himself be helped up, he watched as the Hunters went back to their duties, having been shooed away by the lifesaver, much as they didn't want to leave X after such an incident.

" _No, that's not the way. I don't know what will happen in the future... no one does. All we can do is keep going forward. It may be painful at times, much like now, but if we don't keep on fighting, then the future is surely doomed."_

" _I'll keep on fighting, fighting for the hope that one day, one glorious day in that future, that we will have everlasting peace."_


	66. Extra: MMXRWBY Chibi Episode 2

_**So, gonna try a new formula for this. One longer tale and a few shorter ones. Hopefully this will speed me up when thinking them up.**_

 _ **Also,a cookie if you can tell me what the first story is a parody of!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 _ **Episode 2, Part 1 – Who broke it?**_

Blake, X, Axl, Weiss, Yang and Ruby were all standing around the table, all looking slightly sheepish at the sight before them.

A Z-Sabre.

A broken one to be exact. It was snapped clean in two with small wires sparking at the opening of each end. Addressing them all, was Zero himself. He stood with arms folded and a serious look on his face.

"So... who broke it?"

The six all exchanged looks between each other.

"I'm not mad. I Just wanna know." Zero pressed.

Ruby seemed very uneasy about the whole thing. Taking one more quick look at her friends, she spoke up.

"I did. It was m-"

"No. No you didn't." Zero interrupted her.

He knew full well Ruby was too sweet and innocent to do something like that, even if she was a weapons freak.

"Axl?" Zero passively accused.

"Don't look at me! Look at X!"

"What?" X asked, offended. "I didn't break it!"

"Huh, that's weird." Axl placed a hand on his chin. "How'd you even know it was broken."

X facepalmed.

"Because it's sitting right in front of us and it's broken! Duh!"

Axl moved uncomfortably close to X's face, forcing the blue Hunter to lean back to regain his personal bubble.

"Suspicious." Axl whispered.

Yang then spoke up.

"Um... if it matters, probably not but, Weiss was the last one to be seen with it."

"You liar! I don't even use a sabre!" Weiss protested.

"Oh really, Ice Queen? Then what were you doing in the Dust store where Zero was working on it?"

"I use the fire dust to fix my eyebrows, everyone knows that!" Weiss retorted.

"Ok, Zero, let's not fight. I broke it, I'll pay for it!" Ruby tried again to take the blame but Zero shot her down.

"No! Who broke it?"

Silence followed, although Axl was shooting a few glances over at the one they had seemingly left out, the one who was simply reading and staying out of the argument.

"Psst. Zero!" He whispered. "Blake's been awfully quiet during this whole thi-"

"REALLY?" Blake snarled.

"Yeah, really! Now are you gonna admit that you broke it or-"

Blake began laughing sarcastically as the room erupted in arguments and accusations being thrown back and forward, with everyone blaming everyone else. Except for Blake and X blaming each other of course. Axl also seemed reluctant to accuse Weiss for some reason too!

Zero stepped outside the room into the hall to let the group fight it out among themselves. When he arrived, Team JNPR were waiting there.

"So, did you find out who broke it?" Jaune asked.

"Yup."

"Well... who was it?"

"I broke it."

JNPR's jaws dropped collectively.

"I activated it and it burned a hole through the holster on my back so I snapped it in half." Zero explained.

"I predict 10 minutes from now it'll be like the Maverick Wars all over again. Full war paint on faces type stuff."

"Why would you do such a thing?" Pyrrha asked.

Zero shrugged.

"It's been a little to quiet around here since the main series, y'know? I need some action, even if it's just watching it."

"ADMIT YOUR GUILT, FOUL FIRE DEMON!" Axl cried as he threw a bookcase at Yang.

"Ah..." Zero sighed. "Much better!"

 _Transition: Zero slashes a 'Z' through the material used for the background and leaps through it. He holsters his blade while his hair flaps dramatically in the wind, accompanied by some Spanish guitars._

 _ **Episode 2, Part 2 – New Employees**_

"At long last! With all of our forces combined, we shall be able to destroy everything! The world as we know it, is mine to do with as I please! AHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!" Xandria cackled evilly, throwing her head back and raising her arms to the sky as she did so.

The rest of her minions all cheered loudly, congratulating their leader on her nefarious plot. All that was, except for two Grimm stationed right at the back.

"I couldn't here her Mike, what's she saying?"

"Something about world domination I think?"

"Again? Come on already, we had to put up with this crap from Cinder all the time. Why'd you rope me into this again?"

"Excuse you, Marty? You're the one who filed for employment! As soon as Cinder bit the dust, I told you we could do anything we wanted to, but no! You just had to take the first minion job you saw in the paper, didn't you?"

"Why not? Being a minion is what I'm good at! Besides, it had a good 401k and full dental!" Marty justified his decision with a show of his shining white fangs.

"Besides, it means we don't even have to listen! I mean, what's she gonna say? Destroy enemies! Blah blah blah! World domination! Yadda yadda. Same stuff, different place. At least this one is thinking of giving us some leave days."

"You got a point there!" Mike nodded. "I'm already looking at vacation spots! I hear some of the new settlements in the forest areas have the most tender human flesh. Plus there's very few Hunters! Or, so I'm told."

"Heh! They roped you in with that old tale?" A new voice said.

Standing just beside the two Grimm, were two Pantheons. They seemed to be much the same as Mike and Marty, not really caring too much about the plan and just chilling out at the back.

"What do you mean?" Mark asked.

"Kid, there ain't no 401k, there ain't no breaks and the work is hard as anything. Doesn't matter if your a Grimm or a robot, you're gonna be working your behind off. That is, unless you know how this place works."

"Normally, we don't care for the newbies but, you two seem like cool guys. You've been through all this before I'm guessing." The other said.

"Worked under Cinder for most of our lives. Well... 'worked' if you catch my drift."

The Pantheons chuckled.

"I like you guys. What's your names?"

"Mike."

"Marty."

The two shook hands with the Pantheons.

"We don't really have proper names but I'm known as Bolt, this here is Geary."

"Nice to meet ya." Geary greeted. "We've been dodging our jobs for as long as I can remember."

"It's not that long, I keep telling you to get your memory core fixed." Bolt chastised.

"Seems like we have a lot in common." Marty said. "Lemme guess, you guys got that one annoying co-worker who always follows you around?"

"You mean Cogs?" Bolt asked for clarification.

"Ours was called Larry but, same difference."

"Boys, I think we're gonna get along juuuuuust fine." Bolt laughed as he placed an arm around each Grimm.

 _Transition: Two Horokko Reaverbots walk onto the screen, looking around curiously. A punching sound is heard, causing them to jump in panic. The shot pans right and we see a smirking Yang, punching her hand into her robot arm repeatedly. She launches herself forward and begins beating up the Reaverbots in a cloud of cartoon smoke._

 _ **Episode 2, Part 3 – Cookie Lesson**_

In the kitchen, three tables are sitting, prepared with a mixture of ingredients and equipment. At one of these tables is Yang, looking eager as usual and ready to partake in whatever is happening. At the other, is a slightly bewildered X. The final table, placed in front of the other two has none other than Ruby behind it, smiling like a giddy child.

"Good morning class! Welcome to cookie making 101! I, the great cookie expert, Miss Ruby Rose, will be instructing you on how to make the finest cookies in Remnant! Let's get started!"

The three put on their aprons. Ruby's had her standard Rose symbol upon it, though with a small chef hat sitting atop the rose. Yang's was a simple 'Kiss the cook' one written in flame styled text and X's had an oven with arms dual wielding flamethrowers! Underneath it read 'Cooking Machine!' In bold capitals.

"First, we must add the eggs!"

Ruby demonstrated the correct method, gently cracking the egg and letting its contents fall into the bowl neatly. Yang meanwhile, was grabbing an egg at a time and slamming them into the bowl with full force! Yolk splattered all over the bowl as she added each one. While X had placed all his eggs into the bowl whole.

"X!" Ruby giggled. "You've gotta crack them first!"

"Oh! Sorry."

Instead of taking the eggs out to crack them as you might expect, X tried a more... unorthodox idea. Readying his buster cannon, he charged up a shot and fired it into the bowl.

 ***KER-SPLAT!***

"That's... one way of doing it..." Ruby remarked as the eggs were now indeed cracked and most of their contents was lining the walls around X.

"Now for the flour!"

Ruby poured just the right amount of the white powder in.

Yang tried her previous tactic of throwing stuff into the bowl. Spinning her arm up, Yang tossed the bag into her bowl.

 ***POOF** *

A white fog covered her table as she emerged coughing and covered head to toe in flour. Waving the powder away, Yang grumbled at her lack of results. Until she felt something moving up and down her back.

It was X, his buster transformed into a small vacuum cleaner! Taking the flour off her he then deposited it into the bin before moving on to his own bag. He quickly vacuumed up the whole bag and then switched it to the 'blow' setting. A steady stream of flour was poured into his bowl and he then moved over and poured some into Yang's as well.

"Thanks!" Yang gave a thumbs up. "Now for the- Hey! Where are the chocolate chips?"

She and X looked all over the tables, unable to find them. It was only when they heard the floor creak that they looked over at Ruby, who was slowly tiptoeing towards the door... with a bag full of chocolate chips!

"Ruby! Give those back!" Xshouted, grabbing the bag and pulling against it, as did Ruby with equal fury.

"A little help here?" He asked.

Yang thought to herself, snapping her fingers as she had a brainwave. Reaching into the fridge, she pulled out a container and dashed back over to the squabbling duo.

"Oh sister! I know you like chocolate chips but wouldn't you rather have some..."

She pulled out the box from behind her back to reveal a packet of delicious red fruit.

"...strawberries?"

Ruby's eyes lit up and her grip faltered, causing X to tumble backwards and land on his backside with a small 'oof'.

"GIMMEGIMMEGIMME!" Ruby squealed, dashing into Yang and taking the strawberries from her hands and beginning to eat them, hunched over like Gollum.

"My preciouses!" She said in a creepy voice.

"Now what?" X asked.

"Mix it all together of course!" Yang answered.

Both of them had a rather different method of mixing the ingredients. X had opted to take one of the whisks and place it on his buster barrel. When he charged his weapon, the whisk began to spin and stir the mixture for him.

Yang meanwhile had placed her whisk in the centre of the bowl, standing upright. She pulled her arm back and let out a yell as she punched the utensil. It began spinning furiously around the bowl, achieving the same effect as X's method.

"I think that'll be enough now Yang!" Ruby called as she munched the strawberries.

Happily, Yang grabbed the still spinning whisk. She was instantly pulled off her feet and was whirled around in blur before the whisk came loose and she flew across the room. A tremendous crashing sound came from where she landed, along with someone crying out 'My leg!'

"Lastly, we need to bake the mixture!" Ruby instructed.

Placing hers in a small compartment, she began pressing a green button. Nothing happened. She pressed it repeatedly, getting more and more frustrated.

"Aw... the oven is broken." She sighed.

"For the last time..."

The three looked up as it was revealed Ruby had put the cookies in Zero's chest compartment! The green button was one of his crystals on his chest!

"...I am not an easy bake oven!" He shouted.

 ***DING!** *

A small bell sound made Zero stop and look down at his chest. Opening it up, they found the cookies Ruby had put in were cooked to perfection. The delicious smell wafting through the air as Ruby lifted them out carefully.

"Thanks Zero!" She skipped away happily, while Zero just stood there, confused.

"My turn!" Yang raised her hand up.

"Yeah no." Zero shook his head, closing his chest back up again.


	67. Extra: A Manic Night

You would be forgiven for thinking that an earthquake was currently happening in the resistance base. After all, the ground was shaking, furniture and utensils were dancing all over the place with the vibrations and various students had found desks to hide under until the event had passed.

As it turned out though, that wasn't the cause of the disruption.

The door to Team RWBY's dorm was flung off it's hinges, flying out of an open window and landing in the courtyard below.

"Yo! What the hell man?" A voice from below exclaimed as the door hit them.

Into the room charged Ruby and Yang, both excited beyond belief. Ruby couldn't stop moving her feet, running all around the room just to burn off her excess energy, while Yang's hair was on fire! Normally this only happened when she was angry but it seemed that mass excitement ignited it too.

"HURRY UP AND PUT IT IN ALREADY!" Ruby said giddily.

Rushing over to their TV, Yang pulled out a video game case and placed the disk inside. The two plonked themselves down in front of the screen, their eyes glistening as the game started up.

SEGA PROUDLY PRESENTS

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Their smiles grew ever wider as the various logos appeared on the screen, detailing the people who had created this masterpiece.

Then, a pair of red and white trainers appeared on the screen, the wearer tapping one of his feet impatiently.

"*GASP* It's him! After all this time!" Ruby squeaked.

Then two yellow tails waved by with white end points, followed by a pair of spiked knuckle gloves punching against each other.

"It's all of them!" Yang had teary eyes of joy.

The game intro then showed an elevator door opening, to reveal a yellow fox with two tails, a red echidna who owned the knuckle gloves and a blue hedgehog wearing the trainers from earlier. All three ran towards the screen as the music blasted out and the game title appeared.

SONIC MANIA

"It's so beautiful!" Ruby cheered as the girls watched the screen in childlike wonder.

"Go on, Sonic! Beat up those Badniks!" Yang urged the little hedgehog on.

The intro soon gave way to the title screen and the girls grabbed a controller each, ready for their new virtual adventure. Ruby chose Sonic (obviously) while Yang went for Knuckles.

"Ah! It's so good to be back in Green Hill again!" Ruby sighed.

The rest of the afternoon went much like this, with the girls playing through the game all day. The only sounds to be heard from their dorm being the in game effects, music and their comments such as:

"IS THAT THE DEATH EGG ROBOT?"

"Chemical plant! Hell yes!" 

"I LOVE PUYO PUYO!"

"Is that chicken doing the weather?"

"Press Garden looks so pretty!"

"HAHA! It's my turn to use this machine Robotnik!"

And so on and so forth.

It was late into the night when Blake and Weiss finally came back in and forced the girls to stop playing so they could all get some sleep.

"No! I don't wanna!" Ruby cried like a spoiled brat, flailing her arms wildly as Blake held her out at arms length.

"Fine, I'll go to bed." Ruby accepted defeat.

"However! I get to wear this!"

Dashing over to her wardrobe, she quickly put on a Sonic the Hedgehog onesie, complete with a pull up hood with the signature spikes on it. Weiss tried to protest but Blake moved her hand down and shook her head.

"Just let her." She sighed.

Reluctantly, Weiss agreed and all four went to bed, with Ruby dreaming of playing her new game again tomorrow.

 _ **A few hours later**_

At around 3 AM, Blake stirred from her slumber, eyes bleary and her hair unkempt. It's a well known fact that kitties cannot sleep when they are thirsty. Still half asleep, Blake made her way to the small fridge in their room and looked through the various items for the one she desired.

"Strawberries... no."

"Iced tea... yuck."

"Strawberry Sunrise... is Yang even allowed this stuff?"

"Ah, here we go."

She pulled out a small milk carton and began chugging it down, still half asleep before making her way back to bed. Walking past the window, she shielded her eyes from the light coming from outside. She quickly shut the curtains and climbed back into bed.

"Man... that pink light is really bright."

"*Yawn* Pink light?" Ruby asked as she rolled over in her bed.

"Y'know. That pink light from that weird swirly portal making the humming sounds?"

"Oh... right." Ruby sighed.

Ten seconds later, all of them were wide awake.

"Wait! Portal?" Yang gasped.

The four ran over and flung open the curtains to see a pink swirling vortex with a pulsing sound in the middle of the courtyard! Grabbing their weapons, the team ran downstairs to see what was going on.

Being on the other side of the hallway, JNPR and ZXA hadn't seen what was going on. The girls decided not to disturb them, confident they could handle this themselves.

Outside, the portal had just finished expanding to it's full size, much to the relief of the girls. If it hadn't finished appearing yet, they were still in time to stop whatever was going to come out of it. All of them aimed their weapons at it, preparing for whatever was about to appear.

Suddenly, a small object fell out of it and plonked onto the grass in front of them.

"Well.. that was anti-climatic." Weiss admitted.

Tentatively, Blake creeped forward and knelt down to examine the object. It was a shining pink gem of some kind, glowing beautifully and pulsing with the light.

"How pretty!" Blake thought as she reached to pick it up.

 ***CLANG** *

Her hand froze where it was as something landed just in front of her position, something made of metal, with red robotic feet.

 _ **(Insert music: Sonic Colours – Eggman Theme)**_

Blake looked up slowly to see the entity that had spawned. The red, shoe like feet were attached to two thin blue legs. That lead up to a blue, circular body with a jet engine on the back, the cooling fans contained within a yellow circle on it's chest. It's hands had five pointed fingers on each and the head consisted of three smooth protrusions like hedgehog spikes. It's eye's were contained on one central LED screen, showing two red eyes that stared down at her, looking past it's pointed metal nose.

The robot looked down at Blake, who promptly scampered back and drew her weapon again.

"What is that thing?" She asked.

Then, she and Weiss looked over at Yang and Ruby, who were both staring open mouthed at the robot.

"Sis, you seeing this?" Yang asked.

"Yup." Ruby nodded. "But I don't believe it."

"You know this thing?" Weiss was baffled.

"Yeah, from our video game." Yang explained.

"Metal Sonic." Ruby identified the perpetrator for them.

"What is your game character doing on Remnant?" Blake wondered.

Metal bent down and scooped up the pink gem stone. Holding it in the palm of his hand, he allowed it to float upwards slightly as he observed it before speaking in a robotic voice.

" _OBJECTIVE ACHIEVED. PHANTOM RUBY HAS BEEN ACQUIRED."_

He turned his head, staring in the direction of Team RWBY, but not doing anything. It seemed like he was trying to comprehend something.

"Uh, Yang... Why is it looking at us like that?"

"I don't think it's looking at all of us, Blake." Weiss interjected.

Weiss then began walking off to the side, out of Metal Sonic's vision. He didn't even acknowledge her as she moved away. Blake then tried the same thing, moving slowly beside the heiress. Again, there was no movement from Metal.

When Ruby tried it though, his eyes followed her. Ruby hopped back and forth, moving in random directions. On a dime, Metal's head would turn and move to keep it's gaze locked on her. But why?

Yang gasped in realisation.

"Ruby! Your Sonic onesie! It thinks you're him!"

Looking at her attire, Ruby realised her mistake. She began to try and take it off but was stopped as Metal began marching up to her. His feet clanked along the ground as he stomped closer to Ruby. Yang aimed her Ember Celica at Metal but Blake stopped her firing.

"If we shoot him we'll cause chaos across the base! Let's see what he wants first."

Reluctantly, Yang lowered her weapon as Metal was right in front of Ruby, the young Huntress leaning backwards nervously as Metal Sonic stared into her very soul.

" _MUST ELIMINATE THE HEDGEHOG!"_

Ruby backed away, panicking as the robot advanced on her. She desperately looked around while her friends prepared to fire on him. It would ruin their chance at stealthily handling this but they wouldn't just let Ruby die over it.

As Metal raised an arm to strike, Ruby had a thought, a random, crazy thought but it was her only shot.

"I'll race you!" She shouted.

Much to everyone's surprise, Metal backed away.

" _I ACCEPT."_

Weiss and Blake had to do a double take after hearing that. This machine of death and destruction wanted to race? Of course it made sense with Yang.

"Well, it is how you fight him in the game and Ruby is as fast as Sonic. Plus he'll kill her if she doesn't."

So what you're saying is, we have no choice." Weiss clarified.

"Yup."

Apparently understanding this, Metal backed away, though still watched Ruby. He then held one arm up and waved a finger at her before turning and facing in the direction they would go, placing a line on the proposed track, far away from the base. Ruby lined up alongside him, she would have to just figure this out as they went.

 _ **(Insert music: Sonic Mania – Metal Sonic Boss Theme)**_

" _3..."_

" _2..."_

" _1..."_

" _GO!"_

The two sped off, leaving a mix of rose petals and flames in their respective wakes. Running at top speed, the two left the base and made their way along the highway. It was early morning so there was no real traffic about, making Ruby very relieved, they might just get away with this after all!

Plus, this was actually kind of fun! Either Metal was a lot slower than she thought, or Ruby herself was faster than she had believed. The lights that illuminated the highway were a blur as the two ran on, the illuminated city in the distance providing a stunning backdrop to this duel.

Metal then edged slightly ahead of Ruby and turned to face her, still flying at full speed all the while. Then, arcs of electricity covered his body and he began slowing down, heading straight towards Ruby! Thinking quickly, she jumped up and over Metal, who switched off the electricity shield a little further back and began trying to catch Ruby up again.

Seeing his approach, Ruby aimed Crescent Rose behind her and fired three shots. Metal dodged easily around the first two but the third one caught him slightly, hitting his arm and making his torso spin a full 360 degrees!

He quickly shook this attack off though and began charging up a yellow energy barrier. Once it reached full charged, Metal began spinning around with his arms held forward, like a drill but and began moving towards Ruby. There was no way she would be able to get through that energy barrier but maybe she wouldn't have to.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw the barrier was fading and Metal himself was slowing down substantially. Seeing her chance, Ruby leapt up just as Metal approached her and as she came back down, she planted a boot in his back. Metal skidded against the road, tumbling around before recovering and zooming up ahead of Ruby again.

Metal then began flying along the divider that split the highway into two sections, also where the lamp posts were kept. He smashed into the m without hesitation, knocking the light fixings off their poles and sending them spinning into the air. Of course, what comes up must come back down!

Glass shattered as Ruby just managed to run ahead of the first light pole. The next landed just in front of her and she had to slide underneath it through a narrow gap to avoid the obstacle. The third one came down and Ruby jumped up again but this time, Metal was ready.

As Ruby leapt up, Metal curled into his spinball form and zoomed at Ruby. She didn't see the doppelgänger until too late when she felt his steel form smash into her from behind. Flailing her arms wildly, Ruby fell over the side of the highway and tumbled downwards to the ground below.

"OOF!" Ruby groaned as she hit the dusty ground back first.

Rubbing her head as she got back up, she found Metal had his hand pointed right at her with a n energy blast ready to fire. In his other hand was the Phantom Ruby, still pulsing vibrantly.

" _A FOOLISH ATTEMPT. I CANNOT BE BEATEN. THERE IS ONLY ONE SONIC!"_

Metal prepared to fire on Ruby, when they both noticed the Ruby pulsing even more strongly than usual. It began hovering by itself and Metal backed away for his own safety as the Ruby emitted it's signature sound and a portal opened again.

" _DOES NOT COMOUTE. I DID NOT ACTIVATE THE RUBY."_

From within the portal, the two saw something moving, something coming closer. Metal peered in intensely, trying to identify the object. Ruby looked in too, and soon realised what it was. She smiled to herself, pulled off her hood and addressed Metal.

"You're right. There is only one Sonic."

Metal was still bewildered as Ruby had revealed herself to not be Sonic the Hedgehog.

"There is only one Sonic, and here he comes!"

As Metal looked back in, he was hit in the face by a blinding blue blur. It shot out of the portal and made a loop of the arena, leaving a bright blue trail behind it as it travelled. Metal tried to fire an attack at the newcomer but the blur zipped past him repeatedly, knocking the robot about like he was a pinball in a machine.

Finally the blur stopped next to Ruby and the glow subsided. There, standing beside her, was the hedgehog himself.

It was his classic form, so only about three quarters of Ruby's height. He still had his cute little pot belly, along with his classic red shoes and shorter spines. It was also apparent that, like his video game self, he couldn't speak. Instead giving Ruby a thumbs up as the two stared Metal down.

" _SCANS IDENTIFY TWO (2) TARGETS. PROCEEDING EXTERMINATION OF FAKE HEDGEHOG AND ANNOYING CHILD!"_

"Hey! I take offence to that!" Ruby shouted.

 _ **(Insert music: Sonic Forces – Metal Sonic Battle)**_

Metal sonic rolled into his spin dash form and made straight for the pair of heroes. The two quickly jumped over him and began running in the opposite direction. Though this seemed like cowardice, it was actually just setting up the battlefield. Speed would be key to this fight.

Their opponent quickly flew after them and soon caught up. Charging up a light in his chest, Metal fired out a beam of concentrated energy that tore up the ground and moved slowly towards our heroes.

Pieces of concrete were being thrown up everywhere, so Ruby decided to use them. Seeing a larger piece in mid air, she leapt up and swiped it backwards with her scythe, sending it smashing into Metal. Sonic followed up by overhead kicking another piece right into Metal's face. As the robot was dazed in the air, Ruby gave a two footed kick that sent Metal tumbling back down to the ground.

His jet boosters firing, Metal shot back up as Ruby tried to slash at him with her scythe. He ducked underneath and knocked Ruby away with ease. He prepared to give chase only for Sonic to spin dash into his back and send all three off again at high speed.

With Metal in between the two heroes, they began knocking him back and forth between them, like a tennis ball in the court. After a few moments of this though, Metal countered by overloading his circuits and forcing Sonic to not attack him. It didn't last long enough to stop Ruby, who timed her next attack just as the energy wore off, spinning towards Metal with her scythe blade extended to hit him repeatedly. Knocking him back, Sonic landed down on top of Metal and smashed him into the dirt, out of sight.

"Did we get him?" Ruby asked.

She soon got an answer.

Metal emerged from the earth with an almighty explosion and threw several chunks of concrete all over. He then began using the same strategy as Ruby and Sonic had earlier, throwing pieces at them constantly and disrupting their attacks. Despite his programming wanting Sonic dead, Ruby was his priority since all she was doing was hindering his objective.

Punching Sonic away, Metal extended an arm outwards and smashed Ruby into the dirt. He did not relinquish his grip but let her be dragged through the ground, using his other arm to throw various debris pieces at her, he then cast her aside like a piece of rubbish.

"I'm not giving up that easily!" Ruby panted.

Bravely, she began running towards her opponent, Metal mimicking the action. The two began to increase their speeds as mach cones formed around both of them. Neither showed a sign of backing down until they finally made contact.

 ***KABOOM!** *

The very earth around them was terraformed by the shockwave from the impact. Metal began attacking with blindingly fast jabs and punches, which Ruby was able to counter by spinning Crescent Rose wildly.

Alas, she made one small mistake with her timing, allowing Metal to land a jab to her gut and forcing her to drop her guard. With an opening provided, Metal slammed into her and began dragging Ruby backwards, smashing her into a nearby warehouse. Sonic himself followed the two inside at full speed.

Inside, Ruby groaned as she smashed through the roof and hit the floor. Metal allowed her no quarter as he began spin dashing and rolled onto her back, using his body like a saw blade to slash at her repeatedly. Ruby could feel her aura being torn through by the sharp spines until Sonic arrived on the scene and drop kicked Metal off her.

His doppelgänger tried to fly back at him but Sonic was able to slide underneath Metal's attack. In a split second however, Metal swooped back around and kicked Sonic back again. The hedgehog curled himself up and spin dashed Metal into one of the walls.

Both hedgehogs now curled up and began bouncing around the room, rebounding off the walls and each other, causing little damage to each other but merely trying to break each others attack. As the two finally stopped, Sonic tried spin dashing again but Metal interrupted him with an extending arm, sending the blue blur flying backwards into some nearby containers.

" _ENEMY HEDGEHOG DISABLED."_

Metal began charging up his chest laser again, aiming it at Ruby this time.

" _COMMENCING DESTRUCTION OF HUMAN CHILD."_

Ruby gave an audible gulp as Metal prepared to fire. The laser finished charging and the glow on his chest faded for the split second it needed to launch the projectile. And it would have done, had a bright yellow flash not appeared before Metal Sonic's eyes.

Grabbing Metal by his head, Yang threw him high into the air but did not follow him. Instead, she drew her buster arm and Ember Celica and began firing them alternately. Metal bounced across the sky, constantly being knocked around by the explosive projectiles.

"Wassup, tin grin?" Yang smirked.

"Yang!" Ruby cheered.

"The one and only! And speaking of one and only, how ya doing speedy?"

Sonic gave Yang a quick thumbs up as Metal clattered back down to the ground. He was sparking slightly and his eyes flickered on occasion. He was weak and vulnerable.

"Time to end this!"

 _ **(Insert music: Sonic Forces OST – Fist Bump (from 0:50)**_

Energy cones of silver and blue began forming around Ruby and Sonic respectively. Metal Sonic realised what was happening and tried to move away, only for Yang to fire off another shot at his leg to keep him down.

"Yang, now!" Ruby ordered.

Grabbing both Sonic and Ruby, Yang began spinning around until the two heroes were a blur going past. Upon reaching full speed, Yang threw them forward and the two made for Metal Sonic at full speed.

Unable to move, Metal was subject to the full force of the attack, as both heroes blasted right through his chest, tearing it to shreds and leaving a gaping hole right through it.

 _ **(Music Stop)**_

Metal looked down at his wound as his eyes flickered off. Using what little strength he had left, he took a last look at Sonic before he collapsed in a heap on the ground.

The Phantom Ruby rolling out of his hands and stopping just beside Sonic's foot. The blue blur flicked it up his foot and caught it in mid air. Yang meanwhile was examining Metal's body.

"This'll make one hell of a collector's piece!" She grinned, to which Sonic laughed silently.

"So I... guess I should thank you for helping me out." Ruby said, still having some difficulty believing she was talking to the real Sonic.

To her surprise though, Sonic shook his head, instead pointing at her, which she could only assume meant he was thanking her. He gave her a thumbs up as a way of confirming that thought before he activated the Phantom Ruby again, letting the portal appear to take him home.

"Hey!" Yang called after him.

"So do we hold onto this thing or what?" Gesturing at Metal Sonic's body.

Sonic nodded.

"Sweet!"

"Um... Mr. Sonic?" Ruby called to him.

"I know this is gonna sound silly and all but... could I maybe ask you for one small favour before you go?"

 _ **Next Morning**_

The beeping alarm woke Blake from her slumber. Groggily she sat up with bleary eyes after her disturbed night's sleep. She and Weiss had received a call from Yang and ruby that everything was OK, so they took the opportunity to at least get some shut eye.

She rolled over to the side to get out of bed, only to met face to face with the staring red eyes of Metal Sonic!

"YIPES!" She squealed, leaping up and latching onto the ceiling.

"Haha! I never thought you'd be such a scaredy cat Blake!" Yang laughed as she took of the Metal Sonic head.

"Yang! Where did you even get that?" Blake snapped.

"A little souvenir from our encounter last night. Man, you should have seen it! It was awesome!"

"It does make a rather nice trophy." Weiss admitted, examining the robot's body.

"Just make sure you share it with Ruby. I don't want you two fighting over this little piece of nerd treasure."

"Ah, don't worry." Yang waved her off. "Ruby got something too."

Lying on her bunk bed, Ruby was looking intently at her scroll with the biggest smile on her face. On the screen was a photo of her in her Sonic attire, Yang next to her and the blue blur himself, giving Ruby a fist bump.

"Best... game... ever!" Ruby giggled.


End file.
